Twist of Fate
by Willow70
Summary: This story is on hiatus until Sept. 2011.
1. Chapter 1

**Twist of Fate **

**So here is the idea:** This is AU. Port Charles isn't in New York. It's in Northern Maine. It's still an epicenter for mob relations, serving as the port of call for Sonny Corinthos shipping business. Port Charles is the largest city in the area, surrounded by sleepy little fishing towns, but is still smaller than the show portrays, the cityscape giving way to a more seaside beach bum feel. During the course of this story an attack is made on the United States that leaves the nation crippled and the residents of Port Charles to fend for themselves. Jason and Sam take center stage as the citizens fight to restore order and truly learn the difference between survival and what it means to be human. This is based loosely on the events of the first season of Jericho.

**Character back stories: **

**Sam McCall: **Sam grew up in the underworld of society raised into running con's until her Father's passing when she was only 16. She then entered into an abusive relationship with Nico that left her even more afraid to trust in love or her own heart. When Nico's crimes were exposed, only a year ago, Sam testified against him, putting him behind bars in New York (where he presumable is to this day.) Sam needed a fresh start. To that end Sam has just moved to Port Charles. She is not related to Alexis or Kristina or Molly.

**Jason Morgan:** Jason's story is essentially the same save that five years ago while doing a job for Sonny over seas he disappeared. Sonny did everything in his power to find out what happened but it is still a mystery. Jason was imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit in Siberia and was essentially left for dead. He's tried not to blame Sonny for the fiasco but has still grown bitter as he feels that his best friend did nothing to help him. When Jason returned 2 years ago he left the business and moved just North of town where he went into a venture with Ethan Lovette running of all things, a pick your own berry, apple, and pumpkin farm.

So there are some other major differences but you can read about those...Jason and Sam haven't actually met, but they're about to :)

**Other characters that will play smaller roles are:**

_Ethan Lovette_

_Kristina Davis_

_Molly Davis_

_Lulu Spencer_

_Lucky Spencer_

_Dante Falconeri_

_Johnny Zacchara_

_Sony Corinthos_

_Emily Quartermaine_

_Robin Scorpio_

_Mac Scorpio_

_Patrick Drake_

_Maxi Jones_

_(though the main focus of this story is JaSam as they grow closer during the crisis)._

**On the Horizon**

"Does any of this seem too good to be true?" Sam looked into the rear view meeting attentive eyes as she drove, shifting her attention back and forth from the rear view to the road. "I mean there we were tapped out, about to be thrown out on the streets, only this lovely jewel of a van to our name." She patted the dash board as though any blasphemy of the 4 decade old dinosaur might cause it to break down right there on the spot. Otherwise she would have told the hand me down from Nico that it would soon be traded in for something that didn't remind her so much of the bastard. "And suddenly we find that Daddy dearest bought a bar in Port Charles."

She saw a slight arch in the eyebrows and turned her attention to the two lane black top once more. "I only bring it up because I know that I didn't really ask your permission before packing us up and heading this way." There was a slight whine as the large English Mastiff moved from the middle seat and leaned it's head down on the console between the front and passenger seat. Sam gave a gentle stroke down his face, scratching behind his right ear as she kept her eyes on the lonely road. "We really didn't have a choice though, did we, Boober?"

Boober, so named for his affection for all things fraggle, nuzzled her hand lovingly as if agreeing with her, letting her know that he was alright with it. Sam smiled and let out a breath, trying to steer her mind to more optimistic thoughts. "But it's a fresh start. We've got a business to run, there's a loft apartment and I hear there's a park within walking distance." Boober picked his head up and gave a joyful pant at that, getting a laugh from Sam, just as they passed a marker sign, telling them they were 15 miles from Port Charles.

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

"Alright everyone, say mac and cheese." Lulu Spencer couldn't help but smile herself as she watched the third graders scream out 'mac and cheese' while all huddled together behind the pumpkins they had picked out on their field trip. She quickly checked the picture on the digital read out as she walked over to Emily Quartermaine. "It's good." She gave her a thumbs up and showed her the picture with a smile. "Are you sure you have to head back now?"

"Yeah, we're the last bus out. I was hoping we could see the orchards but we'll just have to plan more time next year." Emily sighed in disappointment. "Alright everyone time to load the bus." She motioned them towards the door, giving the majority of her attention to her class as she looked over her shoulder to Lulu. "Tell Jase if he wants a ride back to town, he better hurry up."

"K," Lulu turned on her heels heading at a sprint to the large pale yellow farm house, passing the garage where Ethan was still working on the truck. She paused, sticking her head in to check on him. "You've been working on that for hours, any progress?"

"If you're asking if it works, the answer is still a resounding, No." Ethan called over his shoulder. "Are all the rug rats out of the pumpkin patch?"

"Yeah the last bus is about to pull out, Crap, gotta run." Lulu took off again without explanation and hurried up the front walk. She raced up the front steps and through the screen door stopping in the living room to catch her breath.

Jason was just running down the stairs, freshly showered in a clean white tank and jeans.

"Emily said they're about to pull out. You better hurry if you want a ride to town." Lulu panted out as Jason grabbed his leather jacket from the bottom banister of the stairs and pulled it on on the move.

"Thanks!" He called on the run out the door. He stopped short at the porch and stuck his head back in the door with a smile. "Be careful getting Lucky from the airport. I'll see you tonight."

"I will be, see you." Lulu smirked back. She felt like she had four brothers now that she and Ethan and Jason all shared the house in a effort to stay close to the farm. It took every single one of them and then some to keep the place running.

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

Kristina Davis slung her book bag onto the table near the door and walked into the quiet house, headed straight to the refrigerator for a drink. She was savoring the stillness while she awaited her little sister's return. She was her responsibility while their Mom was on her stupid trip to San Diego. She had begged to go on that trip, but no. As if she couldn't make up the school work, as if her mom couldn't find someone else to watch Molly.

Kristina rolled her eye in disgust as anger flared through her once more. So not fair! She glared as the phone when it rang, reading the caller ID to find that it was her Mom. She let it ring as though this simple act of rebellion would somehow let her mother know just how upset she was. Kristina sank onto the couch sipping her diet soda and picked up the remote about to turn the TV on, when...

"Krissy, it's your mother." Kristina scoffed, she recognized the voice! Why did she have to explain everything? She wasn't stupid. "I'd like for you to call me when you get this. I just want to make sure that you and Molly are alright..." Kristina looked over to the phone when she heard people screaming in the background. "Ohmygod Ohmygod. What is tha..." She jumped when it sounded like something metal snapped and then crashed into something near the phone and all went silent. Kristina raced to the phone jerking it out of the handset in a panic.

"Mom?" All she got was silence, fearful tears now slipping down her cheeks. "Mom?"

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

Sam arched an eyebrow when Boober let out a whine, sitting up rigidly as he looked out window, his apricot fur bristling. She frowned checking out the window herself and felt her breath hitch in her throat, mouth falling open in raw terror. On the horizon to the Southeast, past the thick rows of evergreens and towering mountains a growing mushroom of fire was stretching heavenward. "Oh. My. God."

She didn't know a lot about explosions but that – everyone knew that. It was like a beacon of death. A horror story unfolding right before her eyes. Boober suddenly barked and Sam tore her gaze from the cloud just in time to see that she was on a collision course with a school bus. "Shit!" Sam turned hard to the right, taking the van careening down a short embankment. She screamed, bones jarred in a metal clash of pain, glass raining all around her as her whole world flipped repeatedly. Blissful darkness ripped her from the agony while she was still spinning.

**ZZZZZZZZZZ **

Jason sat near the front of the bus across from his sister smiling as Molly was now recounting how she had single-handedly rescued a poor defenseless bird from the clutches of none other that 'Snowball' her neighbor's dastardly cat. "That was so heroic of you." Emily praised her, fighting the urge to laugh so as not to make Molly think that she was taking light of the action.

"So did you name it?" Jason asked as he leaned back against the seat.

"I did." Molly replied proudly. "I named him Mr. Peep."

"I love that name." Jason caught a gasp from the back of the bus and lost his smile as he looked back over the faces the children, now racing to one side of the bus all looking out the windows in horror. He saw the color draining from Molly and Emily as well all before he finally turned to see the monster. "Holy..."

The mushroom cloud on the horizon was billowing upward and outward and everyone was so caught up in what it could possibly mean that they didn't see that they had veered into the other lane and were now on a collision course with VW van. Jason jerked in his seat when the bus driver suddenly realized his mistake and turned hard to the right to try and avoid the other vehicle. The bus careened over the embankment crashing into a thicket of bushes and came to a jarring halt sending several flying towards the front...

_I know, I shouldn't leave it there...I really shouldn't...I'm blaming my muse for being evil today...So okay If anyone wants to read more of this let me know. I haven't forgotten that I'm still working on "The Long Road Home" and "Force of Nature", those will still be updated regularly. My Muse just wouldn't let this one rest. So anyway let me know..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Twist of Fate**

_Wow! I am pleasantly surprised by the interest in this fic. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. You guys rock! I hope you enjoy this chapter and can't wait to see what you think :)_

**Chapter Two**

Wet and slimy coalesced with a rhythmic bristled lapping as Sam's world started to weave itself into something akin to consciousness. She groaned, said clarity coming with the startling price of pain drenched in sticky copper scents that invaded her waking movement. Ebony lashes fluttered as she tried to wrap her first muddled thoughts around the added weight to her head and neck and simultaneously identify the continuous wet lapping against her shoulder. It all came in a rush, flashes of the mushroom cloud, the school bus, the embankment, and the screech of metal.

"Ooooh..." Sam blinked rapidly and finally was able to take in the fact that she now rested, head against the ceiling of her van, neck turned at a horridly uncomfortable angle with Boober sitting beside her licking her shoulder.

"Boob, You okay, boy?" Sam asked in a pant of pain as she reached for the lap belt that had broken loose at the clasp but was still partially holding her in place as it had gotten hung up on part of the protruding windshield. Boober gave her bark as if answering the question just as she freed the belt and crashed the rest of the way to the ground, well ceiling, either way...Sam cried out as the impact with the ceiling of the van shoved a shard of glass that had been hung in her jacket through into that back of her left shoulder.

Boober gave a whine and waited for her next move, one that came slowly as she waited for the pain to dwindle to something manageable before she moved again, rolling onto her hands and knees. Sam leaned up, resting her weight on her knees as she shakily reached for the shard, pulled it out and cursed every God known to man as blood dripped lazily down her arm. She closed her eyes, letting out a breath between trembling lips before she was able to move once more.

"I don't suppose you found a way out of here?" She looked to Boober pointedly as she motioned to the pile of earth and bushes that cut off her way out through the front. She gave the large oaf a look over to see that he didn't seem to have a scratch on him, which was of course Boober's luck. She always wished that she could borrow that luck sometimes. Boober gave a bark and started for the back of the van, manuevering around the seats and the boxes that had been thrown everywhere, her meager belongings strewn, smashed, or otherwise mangled. Sam crawled after him finally kicking the back door open and crawling to freedom.

She climbed the embankment and stretched her hand over the ridge of her brow to shield her eyes from the dwindling sun light as she looked down the road in all directions. She frowned in horror when she spotted the top of the school bus off the other side of the road and felt her heart sinking. Oh. God. The kids. Sam moved at a sprint across the road, ignoring the pain seeping through her shoulders.

She slid down the embankment, Boober running on her heels as she finally got a look at the crash site. The bus has crashed into a thicket of bushes and brush denting in the whole front end. It now sagged, the half open door angled towards the ground where the front right tire had deflated. Sam nudged the door the rest of the way open and had to jump out of the way as a large mash of squashed pumpkins rolled down the stairs.

She moved past the pumpkin pile and grabbed the railing to help pull herself inside. Several things greeted her at once. The sound of children crying being the first, tearing straight through her heart. Sam closed her eyes, trying to stay calm as she noticed the bus driver's neck turned at an awkward angle, eyes starring lifeless out the smashed windshield. She shook the fear and worry and looked back through the length of the bus, combing over the first few rows.

An auburn beauty was stirring awake, caste awkwardly in between the front seat and the partition that led to the stairs. Across from her a figure had rolled into the floor haphazardly situated under the first few seats. "Are you okay?" She asked the woman as their eyes slowly met.

"I think so..." She answered and Sam watched her grimace as she pulled herself up and to her feet, but she did seem alright, cuts and scratches not withstanding. She turned to the rest of the bus frantically searching the rows of children. "Is anyone hurt?"

Sam let her take on this endeavor as she made her way to the unconscious figure on the floor on the other side of the bus.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ **

"It looked like it was in Boston," police commissioner Mac Scorpio stood before a map of Maine and the surrounding states in the main hub of the PCPD, surrounded by every available police officer in town. They'd called in every man they had in anticipation of the fear that would soon tear through the town, hoping to squelch wide spread panic and bring order until they could find out what actually happened out there.

So far the phones, land lines and cell, were all down. Their was no TV, no satellite, nothing. They couldn't even raise anyone on the radios and they had tried every band they could think of. They'd managed to find an analog HAM radio from one of the local residence and Mac had one of the officer's trying to differing frequencies in hopes of finding something...

"Does this mean we're under attack?" Mac looked over his shoulder to Damion Spinelli the owner of said HAM radio, who was now closely guarding it's operation under police guidance.

"We don't have any indication that it was an attack," Mac didn't want to start a panic, but he had a really bad feeling about this. "And we don't need anyone else jumping to that conclusion. We need to get out on the streets and let people know that we're working to find out what happened and they they are safe here for now."

"Are you sure about that?" Mac looked up in wide eyed wonder when Sonny Corinthos strode into the police department with an entourage of Max, Milo, and Johnny Zacchara. "My daughter just brought this to me."

He handed the answering machine off to Max who carried it to Mac. "I want to know what's going on...we got mushroom clouds over Boston no communications...are we at war?"

"We don't know that!" Mac replied heatedly.

"Listen to the damn message!" Sonny matched the fire in his voice and the two of them stared long and hard at each other, all eyes on them as Mac finally gave in, reluctance and frustration playing second string to the need for any information. He plugged the machine in and pressed play.

The whole station fell silent as they listened. "Krissy, it's your mother...I'd like for you to call me when you get this." Mac looked back to Sonny questioningly. "I just want to make sure that you and Molly are alright." The color drained from his face as screams lit the background. "Ohmygod. Ohmygod...What is tha..." what followed sounded like an explosive wave starting from far off that swept to where Alexis was and then nothing but static.

Mac was fighting fear dancing behind glassy eyes as realization sank in deep. "I had no idea that Alexis was in Boston." He got out with choked emotion in his voice.

"She wasn't." Sonny swallowed tightly, hands held on his hips as he shook his head. "She was in San Diego."

A gasp went collectively through all the occupants of the PCPD.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Ethan turned the key in the ignition and beamed from ear to ear when the truck sputtered and then purred to life. He gave an elated cheer and jumped from the cab, dropping the hood. After an all day venture he finally had the damn thing working. Finally!

"You might get the hang of this yet!" Lulu smirked as she made her way past him to her SUV, purse slung over her shoulder.

"Don't jinx it." Ethan chuckled. "Positive affirmation is my enemy. You off to get Lucky?"

"Yeah." Lulu opened the door and climbed halfway in. "You headed to town?"

"Yeah. I need to pick Jason up later from the auction." He arched an eyebrow as Lulu shook her head with a smirk. "What?"

"You better bring the trailer. He'll go over board once he sees how irresistibly adorable those chicks are." Lulu chuckled.

Ethan frowned at that. "You don't think he'll...Nah..." Ethan didn't look so sure though. "We don't need any more chicks."

"You should have gone, Ethan." Lulu laughed as she climbed all the way in and started her car. She pulled up to him and rolled the window down, kissing his still worrisome cheek. "I'll see you tonight." She promised.

"Yeah, be careful." Ethan headed for his truck wondering just what all Jason would have caved to buying, even if he didn't cave at the cuteness factor, sometimes he took pity on those selling the blasted things...oh hell. He should have gone. Maybe he could still catch him...

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ **

Sam straddled his legs, trying to get closer so that she could roll him over. The teacher of the class had sprung to get to the back when one of the children cried out that they couldn't move their legs.

"Is he going to be alright?" Sam turned to see a little girl peeking over the seat and she tried to reassure her, to keep her calm.

"That's what I'm trying to find out, Sweety. Is he a chaperone? Another teacher?" She could see that the little girl cared about him a great deal.

"No, he owns the pumpkin patch."

"Was that where you went on your field trip?" Sam could keep her talking that might work. She had a serene sweet spirit about her. Something faultlessly honest. Sam struggled to maneuver him onto his side at a pant and then finally flipped him to his back, the muscles on this guy giving her small frame a real work out, he must work pretty hard in that pumpkin patch...

"Yeah, we each got to pick out a pumpkin." the little girls words fell muffled in Sam's ears as her breath hitched in her throat when she looked down at the man now lying on his back. Maybe she'd been swimming in the wrong pond. If she'd known pumpkin farmers could look like that she would have left the city scape for rural US ages ago...

Sam shook herself, wondering what the hell was wrong with her as she quickly felt for a pulse. Sweet relief flooded through her when she felt the beat against her fingers. Suddenly he stirred, legs floundering as he fought to sit up in the moment and Sam felt her legs swept out from under her, falling squarely against him, her face inches from his.

They both froze, eyes meeting in awe and shock. She could feel every muscle that she'd had to contend with to move him against her as his arms instantaneously moved to steady her so that she didn't fall off him. Sam gave a pant of excitement and fear and hell she wasn't sure what else as her gaze wandered to his lips just a breath away from her own.

"You're alright!" an excited cry broke the spell and Sam scrambled backward realizing that she'd fallen straddling his left thigh. She felt at a loss when his arms let her slip from him and the empty space between them became more and more, until she was practically to the top step on her ass.

"Sorry, I was just trying to make sure you were alright." Sam stuttered out as a faint blush crept across her cheeks.

It took him an addled moment to answer. "Y...yeah. I'm fine." He finally got out as he pulled himself to his feet.

"I wish I could say the same about the bus." Sam regained her composure and got to her feet. "This baby isn't going anywhere."

Sam looked up as the teacher hurried back up and swept the man into a hug. Sam could have kicked herself. God here she had practically fawned all over him and he was with the teacher...of course. She looked away as though she was intruding on their moment.

"Thank God, you're alright." She said softly as they separated.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. What about the kids?"

"We've only got a few injuries, but some of them are bad. Lily can't walk, I think her's legs broken and Peter may have a concussion. Everything else looks superficial." She pushed his hair back revealing a gash along his hairline and winced as he did. "Are you sure you're..."

"I'm fine. We need to get the kids back to town. We're only about 3 miles out." He explained as he looked back to Sam.

"Are you sure about the bus?"

She nodded solemnly. "Half the engine is in pieces along the brush." She explained. "We're walking."

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

"_And you ask me what I want this year...and I'll try to make this kind and clear...just a chance that maybe we'll find better days...cause I don't need boxes wrapped in string and designer love and empty things...just a chance that maybe we'll find better days..." _

Precious daylight slipped through the town's grasp as parents for the missing bus flocked to the school and police department and hundreds of citizens waited for answers as to what they had happened. Sonny paced the PCPD waiting on any news that might come into the station, for once not wanting to leave the one hub of communication in Port Charles.

He met Mac's eyes across the room, the both of them giving the other a long look as though they didn't think that the other was doing enough by any set of standards. But old rivalries had to be set aside now as a new terror gripped the town...street by street in a cascading wave, power failed through the whole of the city.

"_So take these words...and sing out loud...cause everyone is forgiven now...because tonight's the night the world begins again..."_

Ethan had given up on the radio. All he was getting was static from every station he tried and while disheartened he was sure whatever strange force was at play, Lulu would tell him all about as soon as he got home, provided she had picked up their other brother from the airport. He narrowed his eyes when his head lights skimmed over a bus top on the edge of an embankment and quickly pulled over and grabbed a flash light out of the glove box.

Ethan scrambled out of the cab, raced down the side of the embankment, and promptly froze when his flashlight beam rolled over the side of the white bus. He swallowed tightly backing away slowly as he read the words "New York Prison System."

"_I need some place simple...where we could live...and something only you can give... and that's faith and trust and peace while we're alive... and the one poor child who saved the world... and there's 10 million more who probably could...if we all just stopped and said a prayer for them..."_

Two and half miles from town the rural county road was now a walk way 3 adults, 23 third graders, and 1 dog walked the lonesome road back to town.Jason carried Lily with ease as they moved, while Emily helped Peter along, she and Sam watching him closely. Boober had become a big hit as the docile dog entertained the kids along the way, moving from one group to the next to affectionately greet them.

"He's great." Emily whispered softly to Sam, a hint of a smile playing at her lips.

"Yeah...Boober's pretty sweet." Sam agreed. Emily and a few of the other children laughed at the name which reminded her that they hadn't introduced themselves. "I'm Sam by the way."

"Emily,"She nodded glad to finally know her name.

Jason caught up with them as he realized what they were doing and met Sam's eyes for the first time since she'd scrambled off of him. Sam felt a shiver race up her spine. "Jason..."

"_So take these words...and sing out loud...cause everyone is forgiven now...because tonight's the night the world begins again..."_

Lulu was only twenty miles from the farm when the shadows turned murderous to the street lights and cast the whole of the highway into pitch black. If that wasn't enough to get a spark of fear wavering through her then the sudden thuds against her car surely were. Lulu pulled over to the side of the road and slowly climbed out of her car.

She turned in the street as the soft glow from the headlights illuminated a field of dead birds, settled over the roadway like a graveyard. She gasped taking in the sight with growing panic. What was happening?

"_Tonight's the night the world begins again..."_

_-Last song "Better Days" by the Goo Goo Dolls_


	3. Chapter 3

**Twist of Fate**

_I love all the reviews. Thanks a bunch everyone. I hope you enjoy and I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks about this update. Happy Reviewing!_

**Chapter Three**

Sweet agony mingled with tender touches, soft, supple, cradling his thigh somewhere between addled concussive chaos and waking realization. Deep orbs of Azure took in their likeness in mahogany shielded by a mass of ebony lashes. Her breath danced in waves of strawberry over his lips as his arms seemed to move with a mind of their own, holding her steady on top of him. And for one breadth of a moment it didn't matter that he was on his back on a bus floor or that he had never once met the woman resting on top of him. What passed as introduction was the desire of each fluid touch, every glance and breath in between.

Her lips met his in a rush, blood pounding through his body as he returned the fever need with a brush of his tongue delving between her parting lips...

Jason woke at a pant looking around frantically. Gone was the bus. Gone the pull of desire and the warm body that had rested on top of his. Gone was the beautiful new stranger that had just fallen into his life. It was replaced with the olive green striped walls of his bedroom, and the tousled mess of sheet and blanket half strewn over his body. Jason closed his eyes and fell back to bed in frustration.

Here the world was turned inside out and he was dreaming about a woman he didn't even know the first thing about. The walk back to town left no room for grown up conversations as it took all three of them to keep the children calm. And then they'd nearly walked into a riot. The lack of power had everyone on edge, people storming the gas station and grocery stores. It took every deputy they had, a speech from the police commissioner and some assistance from Sonny and his men to help restore order.

Jason was still reeling over Sonny offering the support of his men. He knew it was an act of self preservation, for Sonny's survival could only be maintained so long as there was order in town. Still he never thought he'd see the day that Sonny Corinthos worked side by side with the PCPD. Jason tossed the covers back and got to his feet at a stagger for the shower, his head still pounding from the hit he took to his head when the bus crashed.

After his shower he headed down stairs, still trying to shake the feel of her against him. They had so much work to do. They were almost finished with the harvest and now with all of this he wasn't even sure how many farm hands were going to show up. They couldn't lose the crop, especially when there was so much uncertainty running rampant.

He's gotten up to speed as much as he could. But no one really knew what was going on yet. There were two explosions that they knew of. One in Boston and one in San Diego. But as to who was behind it or what was being done about it they were literally in the dark. Then there was the added problems all over town because of the power outages and the over all panic. The hospital was running on an emergency generator and they had had to close down all but the first two floors because of a lack of staff. They'd lost nearly half their staff...to a medical conference in Boston, or at least they thought they had, it was yet to be confirmed. They were working with a skeleton crew.

Jason took a little solace in that his Mother, Robin and her husband were all alright. Along with Dr. Webber they had their work cut out for them if they were going to keep things running at General Hospital. He still couldn't even think about so many possible deaths, not yet. He couldn't even imagine what Kristina and Molly must be going through. He'd heard that it was Alexis's message that tipped them off about San Diego and Sonny was working on moving the girls to his house. Then there was Dr. Webber...his sister, Elizabeth, had been at the conference. He couldn't imagine what he must be going through. What it would do to him if he lost Emily.

Jason grabbed a coffee cup from the cabinet and then frowned at the coffee maker, realizing that it wasn't going to work without power. He sighed heavily and set the cup down. They had to get the generator up and running.

"I heard you saved a whole bus load of kids last night." Jason turned as Ethan walked into the house from the kitchen door, oil stained rag tossed over one shoulder as he made his way to the refrigerator.

"It wasn't that noble. I just happened to be there. Where were you?" Jason had had to get a ride back to the farm from Emily as he hadn't been able to find Ethan. "I didn't see you or Lulu when I got in. She didn't go after Lucky did she?"

"Yeah, I was going to go after her once I realized what was going on, but the truck took out again. Johnny's looking for her right now." Ethan frowned at the mention of Johnny Zacchara, his distaste for his sister's boyfriend very apparent. Johnny had broken with his family years ago over the death of his sister. He blamed his father and that was enough to send him right into Sonny's employee when the mob boss needed a new enforcer. "Not to mention the whole prison bus thing."

"Prison bus?" Jason asked as Ethan pulled out a can of soda and tossed it to him. Jason caught it glad to get his caffeine from somewhere.

"I was headed to town to stop you from stocking the other chicken houses," Ethan cut him a glance and Jason arched an eyebrow. "We all know who ends up taking care of those filthy little monsters."

Jason scoffed with a shake of his head. "They keep a check on the bugs, quit letting Lulu wind you up. The prison bus?" Jason tried to steer him back around as he wondered what else could possibly go wrong.

"Yeah I saw a bus off the side of the road, it was dark, I couldn't tell it wasn't a school bus until I was right up on it. It was from New York. One of the guards from the transport showed up at the station later and said it was a transfer. Two of the prisoners got away."

"That's just perfect," Jason sighed in frustration. A crackle from behind Ethan caught Jason's attention curiously and Ethan quickly pulled a police radio from his back pocket. "Where did you get that?"

"They were practically giving them away." Ethan waggled his eyebrows at Jason with a growing smile but Jason only frowned at him. "I don't want to hear it. We're too far away from town to be left in the dark." Ethan replied defensively. Jason simply rolled his eyes at him and started for the door.

He paused though as he heard the message that came through.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Dante Falconeri walked into the PCPD with a mindful glance to all the major players. He had to get in good with the locals and he needed to do it fast. He already been able to work his way in by helping restore some order last night but he needed in deeper than that. It didn't help that no one knew him, or maybe it did, but then the only part of him they were going to get to know was what he decided to let them see.

He had to play this carefully.

"Hey Falconeri! Glad you made it back." Ronnie smiled as he rose to shake the man's hand having made friends with the stranger the night before. Dante hurriedly shook the man's hand but got right to the point.

"Yeah, thanks man." Dante then motioned to the window – to the billowing storm on the horizon. "I don't suppose anyone mentioned the potential problems from the storm?"

"I know you're new, but storms usually don't get that bad here." Ronnie promised him with a smirk.

"I'm not worried about the severity of it, just the direction it's coming from." Dante explained. Ronnie arched an eyebrow at that. "It's coming from Boston..."

"What does that mean?" Ronnie wasn't following his logic yet.

"An atomic bomb went off in or near Boston yesterday and the storm that formed, all that moisture, it soaked up all the radiation. Now when it gets here and the rain starts to fall, all that concentrated radiation is going to saturate whatever it touches." Dante explained it as simply as he could. "We need to get everyone in town into fall out shelters. If the town doesn't have any then you're going to have to use plastic sheeting and tape to seal the houses and get everyone in out of the rain. Basements are better then nothing. How long does it usually take for a storm to get here from Boston?"

Ronnie's eyes were now as big as saucers as he took it all in in horror. "About three hours."

"Then we have three hours to inform every citizen in Port Charles about what's coming." Dante explained.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ **

Jason looked to the radio in Ethan's hand, standing halfway in and out the door.

"Hey Frost get Mac back over here, we're about to have radioactive rain. We're going to have to evacuate the town to fallout shelters and basements and we've only got three hours!"

Jason met Ethan's eyes as realization dawned and he looked to the fields in horror. "Goddammit. We have to get the crops and live stock up and seal the barn." Jason didn't know how they were going to get it all done in three hours but he sure as hell hoped it was even a possibility.

They both raced out of the house to get started.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Sam stared out the passenger window at the storm clouds on the horizon. To say that the bar wasn't what she expected was an understatement. Even if everything wasn't falling apart every where this was turning out to be a disaster. She should have checked into the place more before loading everything up, but then she really didn't have anywhere else to go...Boober was back at the upstairs apartment keeping an eye on the place and she had hitched a ride from Johnny Zacchara who was currently on a rescue mission, looking for his girlfriend that had headed out last night towards Boston.

Johnny had agreed to take her to her van so that she could get what was left of her stuff, at least what she could salvage, but only after they found Lulu. Sam was lost in thought, trying to figure out what she was going to do. The bar her father bought was not only unfit for business, but it was located right across the street from another bar. She wanted to scream.

'Maxie's' was now the place to be. People could barely think to function and so they were drowning their sorrows in her liquor and beer, playing on her pool tables, and enjoying the last signs of civilization through the haze of static TV and Jukebox music delivered all thanks to the owner, Maxie Jones' lovely full generator. Sam couldn't compete with that, not yet anyway. Maybe once the worlds was back on course. Maybe. But at least she had a place to stay.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Johnny asked as she lulled her head against the window.

"I doubt you really want to know what I'm thinking at the moment." Sam scoffed.

"Well, I'm sure it's better than the silence." He chuckled.

"Maybe. I was just wondering what I was going to do now. I don't think I really thought my plan through so well when I decided to pack up and move to Port Charles." Sam sighed.

"I imagine that a lot of people are revisiting past choices at the moment." Johnny shrugged. They both narrowed their eyes as a figure in the distance came into view. It was hard to make the person out, but they were walking back towards town with a gas can in tow.

"Is that her?" Sam asked as they got a little closer. She took it that it was because he had sped up.

"Yeah." Johnny looked a mix of relieved and worried, as if he didn't quiet know what to expect as he pulled up next to the short blonde. The worry melted away when he realized that she was alright and he quickly rolled down the window with a grin. "Offer you a ride Milady?"

Lulu grinned from ear to ear and gave a squeal as she threw her arms around Johnny, half diving through the front window. She planted a string of kisses that led to his lips, clearly happy to see him. Sam couldn't help but smile at the reunion and the blonde's upbeat nature despite being stranded out all night. Sam quickly opened her door and climbed into the back, not about to separate the two of them further.

"Get in, lets get out of here before we get caught in the rain." Johnny finally broke away and Lulu raced around the car to comply. When she was safely tucked into the passenger seat he asked about her trip. "How far did you make it?"

The happiness from their reunion dwindled and Lulu seemed to be fighting tears as she licked at her lips nervously. "An hour out. I was going to stop in Creekwood for gas, but all the pumps were down because of the power. Johnny what happened?"

Johnny looked away as if was trying to put in it words in his head, some way to formulate it in such a way that it didn't sound as horrible as it actually was. "They think an atomic bomb went off in Boston."

Lulu gasped, hand covering her mouth in a heartbeat, the tears she had been fighting spilling against her cheeks. "Lucky, was flying into Boston!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Johnny pulled her into a hug. "You can't think like that right now. He was still in flight. They could have diverted the plane to any number of places. Lucky is probably fine, stranded for now, but fine." Lulu clung to that hope and slowly nodded.

"But, what happened? I mean are we under attack? Are we at war? Who bombed Boston?" Lulu asked in a rush.

"No one knows yet." Sam finally interjected herself into the conversation and Lulu looked over back of her seat in wonder. "I'm Sam, Sam McCall." She offered.

"Lulu, Lulu Spencer." Lulu shook her hand and then looked back to Johnny for confirmation.

"She's right, we don't know anything yet."

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

"_I don't mind...you're someone that ain't mine...but someone that I'll get...and you don't know, how hard I've tried...to convince myself that I...can easily forget...but you left this feeling here inside of me...one that never fails to fight me..."_

Jason could only pray that his loved ones in town got to safety as the farm hands helped him and Ethan race to get the livestock and harvest sealed into the barn and into the large basement that ran under the whole floor plan of the farm house. They could in no way afford to lose the harvest or the live stock especially when they had no way of knowing what was going on out there in the rest of the world.

He looked up to the blackening sky with a frown. The storm was almost upon them.

"Davey!" Jason yelled to his foreman. "Get everyone in the basement, I'll be right there!" Jason paused seeing that Johnny Zacchara was driving up but then let out a breath in relief when he saw that Lulu was in the passenger seat. He still needed to check the lock on the barn but he quickly called out to them. "Johnny! Get Lulu into the basement. The rain might be radioactive!" Jason then took off at a run to check the barn.

"_On a rainy Monday...I feel it inside of me...like the days of summer...on a rainy Monday...I feel it inside of me...in the hopes of one day..."_

Ethan grimaced at his ankle, cursing his luck. He just had to take one more pass through the blueberry rows. Just had to! He gave his foot another tug and bit back a scream from the pain that shot up his leg like white hot lightening. Dammit. "Come on!" Ethan used his hand to try and dig around the tight hole he'd managed to wedge his foot into, praying that he could get himself untangled and back to the basement before the rain began to fall.

"_I won't lie...I still can say that I...admit we went to far...and you wont see me change my mind...but I really wish that I...could forget the way you are...but you left this feeling here inside of me...the battle in my mind still fights me..."_

"Did he say that the rain was..." Lulu asked as she climbed from the car.

"Radioactive." Johnny and Sam finished for her as they both got out as well. Sam was half reeling from another glance at Jason the pumpkin farmer and half reeling from the news that the coming storm could be more deadly than they every thought. She looked to the trunk with a tight swallow. Surely her stuff that they'd been able to save from the van would be alright in Johnny's car. "Let's get in the basement." Johnny didn't want them to stand there and think about it too much at the moment.

The trio headed for the house, Johnny and Lulu in the lead. It wasn't until they'd traversed the whole house and were at the stairwell that they realized that Sam was no longer behind them. Lulu turned worriedly but Johnny pulled her along when the patter of rain sounded rough against the roof over head. "I'm sure she's right behind us."

Sam had stopped on the porch when she spotted a figure in a nearby field trying to pick himself up, but obviously having trouble. She's almost missed it, but he managed to rise just high enough over the top of the bushes for her to catch a glance of him before he fell. "Oh, no..." She took off at a run to help him, praying that they beat the rain back to the basement.

"_On a rainy Monday...I feel it inside of me...like the days of summer...on a rainy Monday...I feel it inside of me...in the hopes of one day..."_

Jason descended the steps to the basement trying to catch his breath. He was already taking a head count, making sure that everyone was accounted for when Lulu shouldered her way through the sea of farm hands to get to him. "Ethan's not here... and neither is Sam..."

"What?" Jason combed over the crowd worriedly as the pounding of rain sounded above them. He wasn't sure what shocked him more the fact that Ethan wasn't back yet or that she'd mentioned Sam. He hadn't seen Sam in the car with them. Jason peered back up the steps worriedly. "Davey, check that those back wash stations still work!" Jason called to his foreman as he started back up the stairs only to come up short when the door was flung open to reveal a drenched Sam awkwardly trying to support Ethan's weight.

"_On a rainy Monday..."_

_-Last song "Rainy Monday" by Shiny Toy Guns_

**Next Chapter : Sam and Ethan learn not to be shy...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Twist of Fate**

_As always I appreciate all the reviews and comments. I am so glad that you guys are enjoying this fic so far. A few notes in answer to some questions. Liz is dead – she died in the nuclear explosion in Boston. As far as Dante goes – if you're familiar with Jericho – think Hawkins – if not then all will be revealed – eventually. Oh and who gets to help Sam wash up ? - You'll have to read to find out. :)_

_Unless by some miracle I can write two chapters on two completely different stories in one day I probably won't be updating Twist of Fate until Sunday or Monday. Chalk it up to a combo of school and life. I've got family coming in this weekend and two computer programs due on Monday :P Not to mention that pesky test tomorrow. Bah! _

_Thanks so much for all the reviews. They really are an inspiration to me and my muse needs all the inspiration she can get this weekend. I can't wait to see what you guys think about the latest update. Enjoy!_

**Chapter Four**

Lulu shouldered her way through the crowd of farm hands, Johnny on her heels as she headed to the back of the room with the police radio. Jason looked up from where he was leaning against the wall, back turned on the row of two sets of wash stations. They were little more than an open row of showers with a central drain in the floor, no curtains, no privacy. No one used them as of present day. In fact he'd had to send someone back to check that it even still worked. It was fed from the well with a hand crank pump to bring the water in through two shower heads. The reason no one had used it in quite a while was that the water was always ice cold.

"I've got Robin." She told Jason quietly as Sam and Ethan were peeling out of their clothes as quickly as possible. Lulu caught Ethan trying to get his jeans off, propped up against the wash station wall awkwardly and quickly turned her back to them as she handed Jason the radio. Lulu grabbed Johnny by the arm and motioned for him to turn around as well.

"Jason?" Robin's voice crackled over the radio. The radios only seemed to work around town and the neighboring towns, trying to reach anything outside a 35 radius had proven impossible.

"Yeah, Robin. Ethan and um...Sam McCall were caught out in the rain for about 5 to 10 minutes. We've got a shower system down here that works, but we didn't know what else to do." Jason assumed that the police had gotten the hospital staff up up to speed on the dangers and surely had some something that they could do. They all heard Robin exhale sharply as if trying to think on how to phrase what she was about to say next.

"Get them showered and do you have any iodine?" Robin asked quickly.

Jason looked to Lulu and motioned to a cabinet off to the right next to a row of canned food. "Check." Jason heard Ethan bite back a scream and then a thunk. He quickly turned to make sure that he was alright only to catch the scarring scene of Ethan in all his glory and the arousing sight of Samantha just shimmying out of her bra, tossing it away from her as if it was the most offensive thing she'd ever had the misfortune of wearing.

He realized right about the time that Johnny elbowed him that Ethan was alright, just couldn't stand for the moment. Jason tried to shake the sight of her as he turned back around in time to see that Lulu was standing there with a large bottle of iodine. "Y...yeah." Jason had to clear his throat and try again. "We've got iodine."

"They need to take 1 to 2 tablespoons, but I can tell you right now it's going to taste awful. When the rain lets up you need to get them both to the hospital. We'll know more then. And Jason, are you alone?"

Jason looked up to meet Johnny and Lulu's eyes. " No..." He quickly moved away from them, trying to get more privacy, when he felt like he was far enough away to mitigate what they might hear he let Robin know. "Alright..."

"If Ethan starts throwing up in the next hour or two, get Lulu away from him." Jason swallowed not liking the sound of that.

"Why?"

"Because she doesn't need to watch her brother die of radiation sickness." Robin warned him. Jason closed his eyes his breath hitched in his throat. He swallowed tightly before he could go on.

"Alright. Thanks." Jason wasn't just worried about Ethan. Sam might have been new, a stranger to everyone but somehow, she'd already managed to get under his skin and he knew she didn't have anyone else in town to care about her. It was more than her extraordinary beauty, he'd met her twice in two days and both times she was putting everything on the line to help those that she didn't even know. She'd risked her very life to save Ethan.

That alone deserved his respect, but he was floundering because she didn't just have his respect, she was slowly making her way into his heart. He was struggling with the idea of losing either one of them, now.

He strode back toward the wash station with purpose and quickly exchanged the radio for the iodine. "You guys keep anyone from coming back here." Jason implored them, trying to give them something to do that got them out of the immediate vicinity.

Because the basement followed the existing floor plan from above minus many doors and non-retaining walls, there were enough twists and turns to separate the rest of the crowd from the wash stations. That was the only privacy that Jason could offer them. The chance of death had a way of squelching possible feelings from seeing them naked. Though...

Jason bit the inside of his cheek when he rounded the corner to see that Sam was covering her breasts with her hands, arms crossed and drawn in close. She had her thighs crossed shielding as much of herself from view as she could manage. Ethan was likewise covering himself from his position on the floor. Jason's gaze shot to said floor as he made his way to the hand pump. "I just got off the radio with Robin. She's a doctor at the local hospital." Jason explained for Sam's benefit. "She said that you two need to shower and take 1 to 2 tables spoons of iodine. Tastes bad." Jason handed the bottle to Ethan first and waited for both of them to get a couple of swigs, their faces showing just how disgusting it actually tasted.

"This isn't going to be pleasant." Jason warned next, about the water. "Try to do it as quick as you can, I'm just going to pump the water." Jason angled himself as best he could to shield his view from them, though there was a part of him that so didn't want to. A small part of him...very small, adding Ethan into the mix did a whole lot to kill the pluses.

Jason had to give the pump everything that he had, it's momentum limited from years of rusty sloth. It took a few minutes before he finally heard the water rattle the pipes and Ethan and Sam stood out of the way of the first few gushes as the water cleared out sediment from the pipes. When then did move under the water though...

"Holy shit!"

".God!" Both of which were followed by squeals and deep pants.

Jason looked up instinctively, worry lining his brow and instantly looked away once more. Sam was doing her best to scrub down with little more than a wash cloth, all while dancing under the spray as though she could some how manage to get away from the cold. Ethan had no where to go, though as he had been rendered not so mobile by what Jason could only hope was just a sprain.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

As rain fell all around town Dante, now clothed in protective clothing from head to toe, opened the back of a large truck before descending into the rain with hand trucks. He opened a nearby storage container and with all haste and an eye to make sure no one was watching he loaded a large steel drum onto the hand trucks and like wise loaded it into the truck he'd brought.

This was the only time he could even think of moving it and it was the most important thing right now, more important than the risks to his health even in the protective gear. The plan was simple for now.

Hide it.

Mortared concrete blocks in his basement should work...He'd wall it in.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Three hours later...

Johnny Zacchara walked into Maxie's looking for Sonny. The rain storm lasted for about half an hour before clearing out and they'd quickly gotten those that had been out in it to the hospital. Johnny had stayed with Lulu who was of course worried about Ethan and then he'd gotten talked into helping out with a few odds and ends at the hospital. He knew Sonny had to be looking for him by now and well he wanted to know what in the hell they had found out while he'd been out and about searching for his girlfriend.

He saw him at the largest table surrounded by several of his higher ranking soldiers. Sonny looked up with a welcoming nod as he spotted him and Johnny descended into the fold. He remained quiet anticipating catching up by listening to the on going conversations but the whole of all of those – through out the entire bar ended with one hiccup of static and a flash from all the TV's previous black.

Several people rose all over the bar to get a better look as a flicker of an image and an unfamiliar language greeted them simultaneously. It looked like a man of Asian decent was recounting a news cast and on the screen behind was a map of the United States with several dots and radiating concentric circles expanding from them. It looked like a hell of a lot more cities than Boston and San Diego.

Fear wavered through the crowd like lightening as the image sudden burst back into static, lost.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

"I'm fine." Ethan looked down the length of his leg to the walking cast now confining his ankle.

"For a broken ankle and possible radiation sickness." Lulu didn't look so sure. "You can't go home yet. Robin wants to keep you over night."

"The geiger counter says I'm not glowing like a light bulb and I have a walking cast. I am not staying here over night." Ethan argued.

Lulu was through playing nice. She set her jaw and leaned in tight to where Ethan lay in his hospital bed. "You will stay overnight or I'm going to tell old man Givens that you're the one that drove his tractor into the pond while on the drunken outing where you and Steven Hanes were trying to impress Dana Crowley with your bull fighting idiocy."

"What's Givens gonna do?" Ethan looked a little nervous though.

"How about collect what you owe him for the tractor...or are you forgetting I have pictures?" Lulu wasn't bluffing.

Ethan glared back at his sister with a deep frown. "Fine..." he finally relented.

Jason held onto the door frame and stuck his head in the room clearly not intending to stay long. "I heard you broke it..."

"Yeah, but I have a walking cast." As if to prove the point Ethan held his foot up from under the blankets.

"And way too much morphine..." Lulu swatted his shoulder until he dropped his foot back to the bed. "He thinks he's invisible."

"I do not..." Ethan argued and Jason cleared his throat.

"Have you checked on Sam?" Jason asked Lulu worriedly.

"Yeah," Lulu looked up a glint of a smile lining her eyes. Jason knew they were becoming fast friends. "She said she didn't want to stay. I think she headed back to her bar." Lulu offered.

"Bar?" Jason asked in wonder. "And was she okay to leave?"

"Robin, tried to talk her out of it, but she was insistent. I think she was worried about her dog and well...she seemed a little skittish of hospitals."

"She's not the only one." Ethan crossed his arms over his chest.

Lulu ignored Ethan and went on to answer Jason's first question. "Sam owns Murphy's old place. She's living in that horrible up stairs apartment. I don't think it's livable." Lulu met Jason's eyes having already taken it to heart to play match maker. Jason needed the help and Sam...she was so sweet and friendly and she wasn't afraid of life or helping those in need. They were perfect for each other. "You know we have those three extra bedrooms and I'm sure we could use the help this season..."

"I get it..." Jason smirked. "Thanks Lulu, but I was just wanting to check on her."

"Try her bar..." Lulu shrugged. She couldn't rush this project she supposed.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Sam could still feel heat against her cheeks at the embarrassment of having to get naked in front of a whole room full of people. Normally she could tell herself that she didn't care and then she could convince herself, but not this time. Despite knowing that the pumpkin farmer was with the school teacher she was still enamored with him. Not just that...Sam froze in the midst of folding a pile of shirts from one her salvaged boxes. Her mind frozen on the feel of his body under hers, that light behind his eyes, the soft smile she caught...

"Oh give it up..." She grumbled to herself as Boober raised his head from the lone pile of blankets serving as their bed for now. "I know, I'm an idiot." Boober whined in disagreement. "No, I am..." She assured him. "I'm longing for a man that's taken." She explained as though that was going to change Boober's mind.

What she didn't know was that right past her door, Jason had been about to knock, when that one sentence born from her lips took him off guard, hand pausing over the door. She'd only just gotten to town, how could she have fallen for some one so soon? Had she known him previously? God what was he thinking? He couldn't just swoop in here, of course she had a life...

They were both distracted from their present train of thought though as the noise of a growing crowd was heard from down below on the streets. "I guess we should find out what's going on." Sam rose to her feet and grabbed the end of Boober's leash to lead him down to the PCPD, to find out what was going on...

Like wise Jason headed down the stairs and out the front door...

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

The crowd was growing by the second. Sam walked Boober to the back end of it as a man took to the podium resting at the top of the steps leading into the PCPD. The only sound was the hum of a generator and the chatter of the crowd. Sam narrowed her eyes watching as who she had learned was the police commissioner and then – a local concerned citizen? Stood side by side, but it was Mac Scorpio that spoke.

"We've learned that as many as 13 American cities were obliterated yesterday." Mac spoke solemnly. "We don't have the exact cities yet, but as communication is cut off and we're awaiting any other information, we've decided to send out Four vehicles. North East to Bangor, East to Lewiston, South East to Portland and then another on the back roads toward Boston." Mac heard a gasp go through the crowd. "Those that go will be given, police radios, generous supplies, and fully fueled vehicles for the use of reporting back to us what you find. All of this will be provided by Sonny Corinthos. We can't spare the men from the PCPD so we're asking for volunteers. We are asking that those volunteers travel in teams of two and we only need six more...Johnny Zacchara will be traveling with Max Gambietti towards Bangor but we needs three more teams..."

It was a slow process waiting for everyone to let what was being said sink in. They were so desperate for information that they were willing to send out scouting parties to find out what they could.

Sam didn't need to think about it much, after everything that had already happened and her lack of luck with her new bar, a road trip sounded like the ideal way to get her mind off of pumpkin man. She quickly raised her hand. "I'll go."

"And your name, Miss?" Mac asked

"Sam McCall." She replied evenly.

"Any one else?" Mac Asked expectantly.

Jason felt a chill creep down his spine when he heard Sam offer to go and despite what he's just heard outside her apartment he felt an instant need to protect her. "I'll go with her." His hand shot up instantly.

"We just need four more..." Mac nodded to the both of them...

Sam tried to raise up on her tip toes to see who had offered to go with her but even then she couldn't see over the majority of those taller all around her...

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

"_Come on baby let's get out of this town...Got a full tank of gas...and the top rolled down...There's a chill in my bones...I don't want to be left alone...So baby you can sleep while I drive..."_

The next morning the whole town seemed to turn out to wish those leaving their well wishes. Sam held one back pack slung over her shoulder as she made her way to the growing crowd with Boober on her heels, leash in hand. She wasn't going anywhere without Boober and he was an asset to any team. Mac was waiting to deliver the team names and there were four cars parked ready to go.

"So our first team headed to Bangor is Johnny Zacchara and Max Gambietti, second team heading to Boston is Jason Morgan and Sam McCall," Sam didn't hear the other two names as she realized all at once that she was heading out of town with the very man of her desire. Oh. God...

"_I'll pack my bag and load up my guitar...in my pocket I'll carry my heart...I've got some money I saved...enough to get underway...and baby you can sleep while I drive..."_

Johnny felt his eyes brim with tears when he spotted Lulu in the crowd as he was readying to leave. They had had the fight to end all fights the night before about him heading out of town. She was already worried about Lucky and Luke and Tracy overseas. She'd argued that she didn't have enough left in her to worry about him too and yet...

Johnny enveloped her in a hug, kissing her neck in desperation. Sonny had him lined up for this and he knew all the reasons that he couldn't say no. "I'll be home soon..." He promised her. "I love you."

"_We'll go through Tucson...down to Sante Fe...and Barbra in Nashville says we're welcome to stay...I'll by you glasses in Texas, a hat from New Orleans...and in the morning you can tell me your dreams..."_

Nico watched the festivities with amusement as Sam and her large ass dog climbed into the car with some bone head farmer. Maybe he wouldn't have to exact his revenge. Some bone head Mad Max wannabe would do it for him. He could just sit back and pretend to be a prison guard for years and take care of this new life of his in Port Charles.

"_You know I've seen it before...this mist that covers your eyes...you've been looking for something that's not in your life...my intentions are true...won't you take me with you...and Baby you can sleep while I drive..."_

Sam cast a tentative glances at Jason from the passenger seat as they slowly pulled out of town...oh boy...this was going to be...something...

"_Baby, you can sleep while I drive..." _

_Last song "Baby, you can sleep while I drive" By Melissa Etheridge_


	5. Chapter 5

**Twist of Fate**

_I just wanted to thank everyone that has reviewed and everyone that is reading and let you guys know that without you're words of encouragement it would be hard for me to keep writing this. I think you guys are great and I am so happy that so many people find this story and my others enjoyable. I really hope that you guys enjoy this update and can't wait to see what you think. You guys are awesome! Lot's of love..._

**Chapter Five**

It wasn't right. He felt all remnants of the chain of command slipping through his white knuckled fingers. Mac gripped the bathroom sink on either side, both hands firmly planted. Water dripped from his face where he'd tried to wake himself up a moment ago. They were all going on little to no sleep and the world just kept spiraling out of control. He'd known the moment that Sonny had offered to help that his involvement would lead to no good. But this...this...

Mac let go of the sink just long enough to punch the cinder block wall, channeling all that pent up rage behind the punch. He welcomed the pain when it rippled through his bones, even as he grimaced and instinctively pulled his hand to his chest. He had to stop this – but how? He didn't have the resources and for now it was the only way to keep order. Mac slowly looked up until he met his own eyes in the mirror, letting out a breath, slow and measured. "You can do this..." He told himself with loathe in every word.

Finally he straitened himself up and headed out the door. He had a meeting to make. Mac made his way to Maxie's, Sonny's new board room. He made his way through the crowd, eyes glued to fractured images that were pouring through the Televisions. It was the same three images, people running, fire, most of it couldn't even be made out, but it was the only thing that was coming through on the satellite and everyone kept watching as though any minute something new might show up.

Mac made his way to the back room, past the bouncers guarding the door and blinked through the dim light to see Sonny situated at a back table in the sparsely populated room, just finishing up another meeting with a local corn farmer. Mac didn't even want to know what deals they were making. Mac waited for the meeting to end and then pulled up a chair across from Sonny. "This is looking a little too Godfather for me," Mac sighed.

"It is what it is." Sonny shrugged. "This things too big for your resources to provide for. Even with all the PCPD and the local firemen, emergency personnel, you can't handle the work load. I can." Sonny explained evenly.

"It's only been a few days." Mac couldn't believe that Sonny was already pitching his mob run of Port Charles.

"We know of two explosions, we know that there maybe more." Sonny motioned to one of the TV's on mute in a faraway corner. "We know that there is no communication with the outside world. And sure we'll have much more to go on when those that left out today come back, but I need you to understand. People are already coming to me to help make right what's going wrong in their lives because of all of this and soon as I deliver results that you can't provide with your limited resources and pesky laws, more and more are going to come to me until the PCPD and all the conventions of law in this town are a thing of the past." Sonny looked him straight in the eye. "You should prepare yourself for that, Mac."

Mac scooted his chair back, fighting the urge to lash out at Sonny. He couldn't, not when he was in his territory. Not when things were already so turned upside down. He did need to send a firm warning. "And I need you to understand that this town is still under the authority of the PCPD and under the rule of the United States Government. If you try to insert yourself as some self appointed dictator of Port Charles I will take you out." Mac promised him.

"Dictator?" Sonny chuckled lightly. "All I'm saying is that people are coming to me and I help them and more come. I'm not trying to become the new police commissioner or mayor or run for office. I was just being friendly and here you come with threats." Sonny lost the good humor. "You need to watch yourself."

"You're telling me that laws and the chain of command are about to be a thing of the past and you're the reason for it. You think I'm just going to let that go?"Mac questioned him further.

"Mac, do you really think that I'm the bad guy here? I'm trying to protect the people here just like you are. If you let this place fall apart the only way I can protect my family is to put it back together the best way that I can. I was simply trying to give the cutesy of a heads up." Sonny and Mac got to their feet in unison, eyes locked in a glare as tension radiated off the both of them and the guards moved in apprehension that the situation was about to escalate.

"Sonny, I'm warning you, work with me here not against me..."

"Only so long as what you're doing is in the best interest of the town...after that, all bets are off." Sonny promised him heatedly, doing nothing to ease the rift growing between them.

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

Ethan frowned as Emily and Lulu padded into his room. "I thought you two were hanging out at the PCPD to hear the reports coming in from the road." He knew they were both worried about Jason, Johnny, Max, and Sam. He hoped that nothing had gone wrong. The groups had only been on the road for an hour at most. Emily sank into the chair near his bedside.

"They lost all contact at 50 miles out." Emily looked about as deflated and worried as Lulu and Ethan felt his own concern sparked at the news.

"I'm sure they're fine." Ethan reassured them. "Remember they all know how to take care of themselves." Well he didn't know about Sam for sure, but she was with Jason so she was in good hands.

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

It was strange to find the road so devoid of humanity. No signs of life or the world moving on. They hadn't seen a single car that wasn't abandoned on the side of the road since they left town over an hour ago. Conversation had been a little scattered as they both occupied themselves with searching every aspect of the landscape before them for signs of life or anything out of the ordinary.

As if the whole trip wasn't out of the ordinary.

The tension hanging between them was unmistakable, but each attributed it to their own notions of desire for one that was couldn't return the affection. It was Boober that broke the silence. He had been sitting quietly stretched out across the whole of the backseat. They'd had to put the majority of their supplies in the trunk to make room for the giant oaf.

Sam was trying not to look as Jason, for every time she caught him out of the corner of her eye, she lost her train of thought and started to think of his arms surrounding her, pulling her hard against him as they lay on the bus floor. Thoughts spiraled from there...She was just fighting stealing one of those glances when Boober's large head moved into her line of sight. He was leaning over the back of the seat in between them looking from one to the other. As if he was the only one who truly had this all figured out.

Jason had been lost in thoughts of his own. His reaction the afternoon before was a knee jerk thing to seeing her offering to put herself in harms way for the benefit of the whole. It didn't matter that she was pining after some guy he didn't have the first clue about. He felt protective of her and he couldn't help that, but it didn't make things less awkward now. He wondered if this guy was from New York, he'd heard her mention that she'd moved from there to Lulu. Maybe that's why she left. He was taken? Or was it someone here? Had she moved here to try and be closer to him?

He was hoping that she'd left to try and get over him, that meant that eventually she would be able to make room for someone else in her life, right? Jason furrowed his brow when he noticed the large dog head inserted between him and Sam. Jason wasn't afraid of Boober, he'd seen enough of him on the walk back to town to know that he was harmless, at least when Sam wasn't threatened. He wasn't sure he wanted to see what Boober was like if she was.

"Is this a ploy to get me to pull over, so he can walk around ?" Jason asked nervously, a hint of laughter edged in his voice.

"I think he's just bored. I usually play the radio." Sam scratched behind Boober's ear and he gave her an approving pant before he retreated back to the back seat their started conversation seemingly appeasing him. "No chance of that any time soon."

"You could sing to him." Jason smirked, half keeping his gaze on the road as she looked back to see her cracking a smile.

"At the risk of your ears bleeding." Sam giggled.

"Can't be that bad."

"Trust me if I start singing, you'll be thankful that his howling will drown it out." Sam disagreed.

"Alright." Jason relented. "So I take it singing wasn't one of your hobbies in New York."

"Not really no." He could almost see her guard going but up, but she was still smiling. Something about New York made her uncomfortable. "A lot of drama without the musicals." She smirked trying to get as close to describing her true profession without lying as she could.

"Theater?" He arched an eyebrow in wonder at that.

"Do I look that much like a starving artist?" Sam laughed, hoping he took the bait so that she didn't have to really mislead him. When she'd testified against Nico she'd turned over a new leaf. A new leaf that left her poor and near destitute but a new leaf none the less. She no longer ran cons or stole cars and she had no desire to. That life was dead and behind her and she wanted it to stay that way.

"Not to judge but unless the moving truck was on it's way...maybe." Jason chuckled along with her. "So what was your favorite role?"

Sam looked up to meet his eyes wide eyed. She wasn't used to anyone caring about anything that she liked or cared about. It made her heart ache all the more that he was already in a relationship. "You'll probably laugh." She looked away to the floor board a moment before looking back up. Her favorite con was the biggest stretch for her. "I played a mother to be once...it was sort of refreshing that everyone didn't look at me like the bad guy." She had played a whole host of distractions, but the pregnant lady that was mugged made her feel like the world didn't hate her as no one really saw her as the person at fault.

"Played a lot of bad guys?"

Sam smiled with a nod. "Yeah. I think I was starting to get type caste, but I finally broke out of the role. Enough about me though, I mean you have to have hobbies too. Something to do when you're not farming?"

Jason lost his smile a moment. He'd been trying to put the world he lived before this venture behind him and there was a fear that with everything that happened there would be some reason for him to become who he was before. For the longest time farming felt like a hobby until the business really took off and he and Ethan started to make a real profit off it. Now they were on the clear, making it and things were finally beginning to feel normal. "I've been trying to take up cards."

"Trying?" Sam teased with a giggle.

"The farm keeps me busy. I do have a few projects, maybe those count..." Jason shrugged.

"Maybe, what are they?" Sam turned in her seat so that she was facing his profile, pulling her feet into the seat with her.

"Gardening." Sam watched him for the longest time before she burst out laughing.

"You do realize that you're a farmer, Gardening is part of your job description." She teased him.

"Not for crops. It's different. It's more like art." Jason smirked as she looked back to her not taken aback. "Maybe I can show you when we get back to Port Charles."

Sam felt her heart lifting, forgetting for a moment that he was in a relationship. She felt her gaze playing over his body, his chiseled jaw line, combing over his lips, wanting, wishing, reeling as she remembered his relationship status. Sam looked away again. "Would Emily mind?" She didn't mean to say it, didn't mean to prompt him to confirm her already pretty clear notions.

"I doubt it." Jason replied quizzically. "But if you don't want to see...I mean I didn't..." Jason was floundering, maybe she felt weird because of this guy she was in love with. It was too soon for him to have asked. Jason was silently kicking himself now.

"No I do, I really do, I just don't want to cause problems." Sam replied quickly.

"For who?" Jason asked her in wonder. Maybe she was just worried about how people perceived her? She didn't get a chance to answer the question though. Jason's full attention was suddenly out the front windshield.

Sam couldn't reply as she watched his face and realized that something was wrong. She looked out the windshield and she felt fear sink in deep. Silence fell heavy to the tune of Boober's whine as they finally pulled to a stop. They didn't have to say a word, both opening their doors quietly as they rose from their seats and made their ways forward...slowly stopping side by side in wide eyed horror.

Before them parked in the middle of the road was a small plane, it's stair case lowered as though it's passengers had descended the steps in the middle of no where. But it was what lie beyond that that had them truly speechless. Beyond the small plane was a much larger one...crashed, nearly in half. Half on the road, half on it. There was no way around either as the larger one had taken out the bridge beyond it.

Any conversation about their lives suddenly took a back seat to what was right before them and what it could possibly mean. "We have to get the flight recorders." Jason announced finally breaking the silence.

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

"_Can we pretend that Airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars...I could really use a wish right now...wish right now...wishing right now...Can we pretend that Airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars...I could really use a wish right now...wish right now...wishing right now..."_

Jason parked the car on main street and he and Sam climbed out, Boober waiting patiently as they headed towards the PCPD, both of them carrying duffel bags that were obviously heavy. People along the street watched them closely and some even followed, recognizing them as those that had set out that very morning.

Dusk was settling heavy on the town and Sonny was standing out on Maxie's front walk. It took two seconds of seeing the duo before he started in that direction, his body guards following suite to make sure he was protected.

"_Yeah..I could use a dream or a genie or a wish to go back to a place much simpler than this...Cause after all the partyin' and smashin' and crashin'...and all the glitz and the glam and the fashion...and all the pandemonium and all the madness..." _

"I know you want to go home..." Lulu had started to say to Ethan as she was helping him into their truck, now newly fixed, but she froze when the both of them saw Jason and Sam walking into the PCPD , Sonny and his men following them in. Lulu cast a look to Ethan and he have an nod in silent understanding that they should follow and find out what was going on.

None of the others were back yet...they wanted to know what had happened...what they'd found.

"_There comes a time when you fade to the blackness...and when you're starring at the phone in your lap...and you hoping but them people never call you back...but that's just how the story unfolds...you get another hand soon after you fold...and when your plans unravel and they saying what would you wish for..."_

"I need a reel to reel!" Jason called as he and Sam walked into the PCPD. "We've got flight recorders." He announced as that should be explanation enough and suddenly everyone was rushing to make it happen on Mac's order even as those from the outside were meandering in. Jason and Sam quickly worked in tandem to get the recorders open so that they could extract the reels in questions.

They finally got them out and loaded the machines, hooking up the generator and the speakers as best they could, but Mac made a final decree to get the kids out of there before they all listened to them together.

"_Can we pretend that Airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars...I could really use a wish right now...wish right now...wishing right now...Can we pretend that Airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars...I could really use a wish right now...wish right now...wishing right now..."_

"This is flight 472 out of Chicago...is there any one there?" There was fear in the pilots voice as he continued to plead for assistance that never came. It was soon overwhelmed by so many other voices all asking for the same sort of assistance. They were looking for the air traffic controllers that were apparently no longer there. So many pilots in one airspace lost.

Blind.

It was like watching a mass tragedy unfold. Only they were listening, hung on every word. Every terror stroke voice, every plea for guidance, every little offer of help that each pilot offered the next as they tried to be encouraging to each other. And then it was anarchy little by little as some found highways and byways to land on and others plummeted from the sky, their maydays the nail in the coffins that had those listening weeping.

It was Dante that pointed out the obvious. "If there were no air traffic controllers...that's over 10,000 planes needing guidance for landing...that's over a million people in the air."

Ethan had to catch Lulu at that admittance but it was Jason that silenced the group once more as he adjusted the reel to get at the back ground transmission, finding that Lucky's plane 725 out of D.C. had set down in a field successfully though they knew not where...

What they didn't know was what had befallen all the other planes...

"_Can we pretend that Airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars...I could really use a wish right now...wish right now...wishing right now...Can we pretend that Airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars...I could really use a wish right now...wish right now...wishing right now..."_

_- Last song " Airplanes" by B.O.B and Haley Williams. _


	6. Chapter 6

**Twist of Fate**

_Lots of love to all you guys reading and reviewing. Thanks so much. You're an inspiration. I hope you enjoy this update!_

**Chapter Six**

Listening to the flight recorders had been hard on everyone, but Lulu and Ethan could at least hope that Lucky would soon find his way safe and sound back to Port Charles. It made it easier to focus more on the here and now and just how much she wanted to help love thrive in the wake of the tragedy that they all seemed to be facing together. It was becoming apparent to everyone that the damage done to the nation was extensive.

Now they were just trying to find out how bad it was. Johnny and the others would be back soon and hopefully the picture would be clearer and not as bad as their collective imaginations could fathom. Lulu looked down the darkened street, flashlights offering wavering beams as others walked home from the PCPD. Jason had missed Sam slipping out and heading home, he'd been so busy, Sonny had cornered him and Lulu didn't even want to know what they were talking about.

She couldn't let Sam go though without at least trying to get her to stay with them. She left Ethan waiting by the truck and headed after her, catching her just outside her bar. "Hey," Lulu smiled sweetly, having to speak up to be heard over the music blaring from the still generator operated Maxie's, across the street.

"Oh, Hey." Sam smiled back as she worked her key in the lock and pushed the front door open. "You want to come in? There's not a lot to offer, but it's a little warmer inside, out of the wind."

"Thanks, that sounds good." Lulu stepped inside right behind Sam and froze, losing her smile. She looked around the derelict remains of what had been Murphy's bar and grill five years previous. The place looked like it needed to be burned to the ground and rebuilt from the ground up. What remained of the furniture was in no condition to serve anyone. "Tell me your apartment looks better than this." Lulu said as she motioned up the set up stairs leading up to a lone door.

"No such luck. I was expecting a little more time to get the place up and running before the world ended." Sam tried to make light, but Lulu caught the sadness in her eyes as she looked around the place. "I honestly didn't know what I was walking into. I was hoping for something a little not so in need of work, but it's still got potential."

"I've got a proposition for you." Lulu really wanted Sam to stay with them. It was hard being the only woman surrounded by so much testosterone. If it wasn't Ethan or Jason or Lucky then it was all the farm hands that worked from sun up to sun set around the grounds. And then there was the added benefit that with Sam living at the house there was ample opportunity for Lulu to make sure that Jason and Sam had every opportunity to explore a relationship.

She was so tired of him finding fault with having a relationship. Lulu knew that Jason had suffered something that she couldn't even imagine over seas. Because when he came back, when he broke from Sonny's organization, he was a fractured spirit of a man. She watched him slowly healing over the years, but he still never talked about it and for the first time in forever she saw something being reborn in him the moment that he looked at Sam McCall. She couldn't possibly over look that, couldn't let him ignore it. He may not see it, but she did and she knew that Sam was the key to Jason being made whole. And by God she was going to help him whether he wanted it or not.

To be fair, she had also noticed that Miss Sam McCall, seemed like a lost soul and she hadn't missed the longing in her eyes when she'd looked at Jason. She wasn't sure what all had happened to Sam in New York, but anyone desperate enough to pack up what little they had and move to a place they had never visited on the off chance that it offered something more than what they had, must have been in a tough spot. Add in the biggest dog she'd every seen and Lulu feared that it involved domestic abuse. Sam obviously thought she needed protection. Lulu just hoped that Sam and Jason could maybe help each other heal the wrongs of the past.

"So what's the proposition?" Sam asked as she headed up the stairs with Boober on her heels and Lulu following after.

"Well, I figure you could use the help to get this place fixed up, so maybe we could trade services. You could work some at the farm and we could trade labor to help fix up the bar. Not to mention it would be nice to have a merchant willing to sell Ethan and Jason's home made wines and liquor. It's pretty good stuff." Lulu promised her with a knowing smile.

"Wow, that is a good proposition, but I don't exactly have transportation to get out there and I don't think trying to walk it would work. It would take me hours to get there and back again." Sam pointed out the holes in the plan, but was still optimistic that they could work out something.

"But that's the best part." Lulu beamed as Sam let them into her apartment and Lulu looked around in dwindling humor. Oh it was worse than she thought. There was no furniture, none. Only a pallet of blankets and a pillow where Sam had been trying to sleep. Now she simply had to convince her. "Oh, Sam...you aren't staying here. We've got several free bedrooms and it would just be more economical for us to come into town when we can to work on the bar. Please say yes, because I won't sleep a wink thinking of you alone, trying to sleep on that." Lulu motioned to the blankets. "Boober is welcome to. I know he's a sweet heart and I'm sure he'd get along fine with the other dogs." She assured her.

Sam looked back at her in shocked silence as she tenderly rubbed at her neck where she had a horrid crick from how she'd been sleeping. It sounded like a dream come true an offer to good to pass up and for shivers raced up her spine at the very thought of sharing a bedroom near Jason's. As wrong as she knew the thoughts were, she couldn't stop them from racing from there to catching him near naked coming from the shower, or accidentally running into him fresh from the field offering him a towel or a glass of water, watching as perspiration glistened against his skin, his lips begging for her to...Sam closed her eyes shaking the thoughts as she cleared her throat sharply.

"I'm not sure Emily would be thrilled to find that there's some strange women staying at the farm with everyone." Sam interjected, now ready to decline the invitation of staying there. "Maybe I can find a bicycle or something..."

"Emily won't mind." Lulu scoffed. "She likes you. Besides she out there every other day or so anyway and we can all hang out. It will help take her mind off the fact that her fiance is stuck in Paris at the moment."

Sam felt her breath hitch in her throat as she looked to Lulu in wide eyes wonder. "Fiance?" She almost choked it out. Emily wasn't with Jason?

"Yeah, I'm still getting used to the fact that he's my brother too. I don't know him that well, but I have to hope as everyone else does that things are fairing better over seas. That he's safe and my Dad." Lulu confided. "You know it's kinda of weird when you think about it because Jason and I are almost like brother and sister and then Emily well she really is his sister and so that would mean she was sort of like my sister but then Nicholas is my brother and so with him and Emily about to get married I mean it's...Weird." Lulu rambled out at a quick prattle trying to push the worry aside once more.

"Emily's Jason's sister?" Sam was still reeling from the fact that he wasn't in a relationship with her, but to find out that she was his sister as well. Oh good Lord no wonder, she'd just misread the signs. But was he in a relationship with someone else?

"Yep and like I said she likes you so you have to come stay with us." Lulu was so hopeful that Sam was on the cusp of saying yes.

"You're sure that Jason and Ethan won't mind?" Sam asked now fully considering it. She wanted nothing more to be any where but her bar in the condition it was in and then god would she be able to even stand living under the same roof as Jason? She had to stop her minds downward spiral once more.

"Positive." Lulu was practically hopping with joy by now she was so excited. "So you're coming?"

"I can't pass that up, Lulu this is an amazing offer. Thank you so much." Sam was instantly engulfed in a hug as Lulu squealed with delight that she was coming to the farm with them.

"You're so welcome. I'm going to tell Ethan and we'll swing by and pick you up in a few minutes. Just pack up whatever you need and we'll all head home."

"That sounds perfect." Sam felt the first inklings of true hope radiating through her as Lulu headed back out and she turned to get her things packed up, not that there was much to pack.

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

Michael Corinthos had never been more protective of his sister as he was now. Kristina and Molly were going through something that he couldn't even imagine and he had quietly been watching them mourn while trying to be there for them as much as possible. Morgan had been trying to help too, but it was hard, hard on all of them and their Dad had been out of pocket since this whole affair began.

To make matters worse his Mom had been a town over when the shit hit the fan and Michael had no way of knowing if she was alright. They were hoping that since she wasn't in Boston that she was, and part of the reason Sonny sent Johnny out was to try and get Carly home safe, but the lack of communication was eating at them all. He had no clue if his Mom was actually all right.

Maybe that was why he felt the need to walk tonight. Some how find a way to clear his mind. Michael missed so many things that his life was without these days and he wasn't sure he could be strong for his brothers and sisters, for his father, if much more fell apart. He still spent time with Jason some, but it wasn't the same. Jason had changed when he came back from over seas and the rift between him and his Father was deep.

Carly hadn't even been able to help them heal it. Michael frowned as he noticed am SUV swerving on the road ahead of him heading into town near Kelly's. That frown turned to fear as it suddenly crashed headlong into a telephone pole. Instinct took over as he ran to see if he could help. What he found inside the SUV had his fear amplified to terror. Slumped over the wheel was a man covered in blistered skin, his hair falling out in tufts. He was unconscious and the worst part was...He was driving the vehicle that Johnny and Max had left town in...

**ZZZZZZZZZZ **

Jason made his way to the out of the way spot outside the PCPD that Sonny wanted him to follow him to so that they could talk a moment out of earshot of those that might find fault with what might be said and he took a small measure of comfort in the fact that Ethan was in sight and that he could see Sam's bar and Lulu from where he stood. He was weary about the state of affairs in Port Charles since all of the chaos and destruction. "Let's make this quick. I need to get back to the farm and Ethan shouldn't even be up and about right now." Jason told Sonny quickly.

Sonny gave a nod but it was easy to read the hurt in his eyes as Jason shot any chance that they were going to have any sort of friendly conversation. It was strictly business. Sonny found his gaze shift to the side walk under his feet for a moment as his mind wandered back to the a couple of years ago when Jason had made it back to town.

He'd known the moment he'd seen his eyes that things were about to take a change for the worst. Jason was broken back then. And he couldn't blame him for blaming him. Sonny knew he was lost in Russia, he'd known that somehow he had to help him and for the life of him he'd tried, but once he found out that Jason had been sentenced to 15 years in a Siberian prison he hadn't known what to do. He'd tried to find him a way out, but it was beginning to look impossible...and then like magic Jason was home...

Sonny knew that it must have seemed like he abandoned him, but he didn't. He just didn't do everything like he should have. He should have tried harder, should have done something different. If he'd realized what Jason was going through maybe he could have – maybe he would have...

"Sonny, come on...what is it?" Jason broke him from his thoughts as he waited with his hands on his hips.

Sonny sniffed back the memories and met Jason's eyes. "I thought maybe you might want to reconsider our` arrangement, considering what's happened."

"We don't have an arrangement any more Sonny and it's going to stay that way." Jason assured him angrily.

"If you change your mind, you know where to find me." Sonny wasn't going to force the issue, but he wanted Jason to know that he was there for him. "And if you need any help protecting the farm or with the crops...you just say the word." Sonny offered.

"I won't." Jason replied vehemently. "Is that it?"

"Jason," Sonny started but Jason shut him down quickly.

"No, you don't get to do this. We're not having that conversation. If I need any help, you'll be the last person I ask for it." Jason promised him. He didn't give him a chance to go on as he turned away and headed to meet up with Ethan.

"The offer still stands." Sonny called as he walked away.

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

Apparently the Mad Max angle wasn't going to work. He was sort of happy about that, seeing as how he could dish out his revenge first hand. He'd had mixed emotions when Sam had come back to town so fast bearing flight recorders as bitter gifts. It was almost a pity to end her life seeing as this could be some post apocalyptic hell and she might have taken him back. Still, he couldn't risk her exposing him as an escaped inmate. His cover story was already solid as a prison guard. The local police had even taken him on as a deputy for the time being.

Nico scooted the back door open and waited on the back porch for the pooch to show himself. He needed to get the guard dog out of the way before he could go after the bitch. God she had some nerve. He'd taken her in and taught her everything he knew, took care of her, and she repaid him with the testimony that put him behind bars for 20 years. A year didn't do much to dissipate the rage that had incited.

At least he was a free man. He'd be damned if she would rob him of that all over again. Nico didn't have much in the way of fire power as he couldn't shoot Sam and not draw attention. What he did have was a prison issued stun gun that he planned on using to take the Dog down long enough for him to kill Sam with his bare hands. The stun gun was designed to take down a man over 200lbs and he damn well hoped that it could do the same with a dog of the same weight class...

Sam was so thrilled that she was going to be able to sleep in a real bed soon. She was even more thrilled that that bed was possibly right down the hall from a hopefully single Jason Morgan. Sam smiled to herself at the very thought and didn't notice that something down stairs had peaked Boober's attention. Boober padded off down the stairs as Sam was stuffing what little clothes she had left into one of the boxes she'd recently salvaged from her van.

She wondered what farm life was like so much had already changed and here she was moving into the dark ages of farm life with electricity. She hoped that the no electricity part was temporary that somehow they would find that life was going to somehow continue on as it had before whatever befell the US of A. She hoped that it was just a matter of time. She hoped so many things and it was refreshing, because for once she felt like something in her life was working out despite all the chaos and confusion.

Sam heard a creak on the stairs and turned noticing that Boober was no where to be seen. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand as her smile dwindled. "Boob?" Sam called unable to hide the fear in her voice. "Boober?" She called again, expecting to hear his thuddy footfalls heavy on the steps in an effort to show himself. Instead another creak sounded. Sam dropped the box, her instincts telling her that that wasn't Boober on the steps. It wasn't Lulu either, Lulu wouldn't try to scare her. She didn't peg Jason or Ethan as the type either. That left a wide range of possibilities that were anything but comforting.

Sam moved quick, back pressed against the wall as she hide from view of the open door, waiting for anyone stupid enough to step through her bedroom door. She knew that crime had been escalating but she didn't understand what anyone could possibly hope to gain by robbing her. It was obvious that she had nothing. Sam was fighting breathing shallow in order to not give away her position just as she spotted him. Sam felt ice tear through her veins with a horror show vengeance as she realized just who it was that was walking through her door.

It was impossible. He was in prison in New York. Sam had heard about the prison bus, but she hadn't even entertained the possibility that Nico had been on it. Sam couldn't let herself get caught up in shock. She knew she had to react and fast. Sam pushed herself off the wall and launched herself at Nico, leaping onto his back with a scream as she first wrapped her arms around his neck and then fought to get her legs around his middle.

"Son of a bitch!" Nico screeched out as he moved in reverse with enough momentum to slam her back first into the wall. She felt the impact jar her body but kept her hold as he did it again and again. Sam was trying to tighten her hold around his neck to cut off his air supply and then she was just trying to get him to stop slamming her into the wall. Sam jabbed her elbow into his shoulder as she tried to angle her foot for a good kick to his jewels. It was hard to managed it though as it took so much just to hold on, this vantage point making it harder for him to attack her.

The last slam into the wall was her undoing for Sam felt the wind knocked from her lungs and her hold likewise slipping as she fought in panic to draw in a complete breath. Sam slipped from Nico's back and he turned on her. Sam had just managed to draw in a complete breath when Nico's boot connected with her ribs and sent her reeling backwards into the door frame. "You bitch!" He screamed. "Traitor. You repaid my charity with a stab in the back." He grabbed a fist full of hair and wrenched her to up, illiciting another cry from her lips as he kneed her in the middle and then pressed her against the wall, with his arm against her throat, choking her voice off. "I'm about to repay in kind."

Sam didn't give up. She kicked out as hard as she could with both feet and kept catching him in the thighs and knees, finally hitting pay dirt when her foot landed in his crotch and he had to let her go as he doubled over in a fit of agony. He was on the move again and she decided to make a run for it as she didn't really have a weapon. Sam scrambled for the stairs, her movement impaired by the hitch to her side and pain radiating through her body.

Fortunately he wasn't moving much faster, but his faster was fast enough to catch up with her just at the top step. Nico made a mad grab for her hair and caught the ends of her Ebony locks with enough forced to wrench her backwards. As he pulled her backwards he was able to get his hand around her neck and he immediately slammed her face first into the stair rail.

Black lines danced in her vision as she fought to maintain consciousness. Sam wasn't sure what happened next. She felt her world spinning in a wave of pained thudding as she landed time and time again until she rolled to a stop just in time to hear someone screaming in a high pitched voice for help. She heard running, thunderous, more than one person and she blinked past the agony of clarity as Lulu came into focus, kneeling down over her.

Jason had been sitting in the truck still floundering from the news that Sam was going to be moving in with them this very night when he heard Lulu's scream from inside the bar. In a flash, he and Ethan were bolting from the truck cab at a mad dash for the front door. Old habits died hard, especially in times such as these and Jason reached for a gun that was no longer there on the move.

He and Ethan burst into the bar and migrated instantly to Lulu's soft reassurances that everything was going to be okay, only to find Sam fighting to sit up in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, her face stained crimson in swaths of flashlight beams. Jason cursed under his breath and looked to Ethan making a split second decision.

"Stay with them." He could hear the attacker, his trajectory out the back marred with heavy hits against walls and door jams, obviously injured in some way.

Jason ran after him or them or whoever, anger engulfing his heart as he tried to tell himself that she was alright, that she would be alright. He made it to the back door and frowned when the door met resistance. He had to shoulder his way out and then he stopped himself. The alley was clear and Boober lay in a pile against the back door. Jason swallowed tightly as he crouched down to see if the dog was still alive. He felt a small measure of relief when he felt breath steady against his palm and that was all the incentive that he needed to rush back to the others.

Jason couldn't explain his connection to her, he barely knew her but then he felt like he'd known her his whole life. He cared more than he could admit and just seeing her, bloodied, beaten, it sent off a tremor in his soul. Jason rounded the bar as he came out of the back. Ethan and Lulu were helping Sam to her feet and if she could stand then that meant she would be alright, right? Jason swallowed tightly as Sam winced in a breath, wrapping her arm around Lulu for support. For the first time in a long time he wanted to kill someone.

"We need to get her to the hospital." Ethan was saying worriedly.

"No...no..I'm fine. I just need to..." Sam didn't get the last word out though as she tried to take a step away from Lulu as if to prove to them that she was alright and she ended up doubling over in the middle, clutching her side.

Jason clenched his fist, making a silent vow to kill this asshole as he watched her struggle. "I think you cracked a few ribs, you need to make sure that's all that was cracked, while the hospital still has power." Jason spoke up as he came to take Lulu's place, wrapping his arm around her.

Despite the pain and fear radiating off the both of them, something happened the moment their bodies were pressed together, something that transcended all of it. Sam looked up to meet Jason's eyes lost in a moment, in the safety his arms, the protectiveness that she saw in his eyes, agony of his soul to see her broken and for the life of her she didn't understand why or how he could care about her so much.

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

"_Step out the door and it feels like rain...that's the sound...that's the sound on your window pane...take to the streets but you can't ignore... that's the sound that's the sound that you're waiting for...If ever your world starts crashing down...whenever your world starts crashing down... Whenever your world starts crashing down...that's where you'll find me..." _

Jason watched from the doorway, half in and half out as a nurse wrapped Sam's ribs, breathing a sigh of relief that she was mostly alright. She'd been lucky. Fractured ribs not withstanding. She was bruised and had a nasty cut over her eye, but otherwise he was beginning to realize just how tough she could be. She must have put up one hell of a fight. Lulu sat inside the room with her and Ethan was making sure that the dog was okay.

He was still trying to take in her story though. Apparently, it was one of the escaped prisoners that was responsible and he could see that there was more of a connection there than she wanted to admit, but he had a feeling he would find out the whole story soon enough. And then he would figure out where to find this guy.

Jason looked up when a commotion broke out in the hallway and he furrowed his brow, finding Michael there, pausing as he watched a gaggle of staff wheeling a badly injured man away on a gurney. Fear tightened around his heart as he made his way over to find out what was going on. He could see the relief in Michael's eyes to see a familiar face.

"What happened?" He asked him quickly.

"I found him in Johnny's SUV. He wrecked outside of Kelly's. They say he's got radiation sickness." Michael told Jason softly. "Jason, Johnny wasn't in the car, neither was Max. They were supposed to find Mom." Michael explained his new found worry.

"Carly's missing?" Jason's frown deepened. God, he hadn't even known. Michael nodded quickly.

"She was in Creekside on business." Michael told him softly.

"_God love your soul and your aching bones...take a breath, take a step, meet me down below...everyone's the same our fingers to our toes...we just can't get a ride, but we're on the road...if ever your world starts crashing down...whenever your world starts crashing down... Whenever your world starts crashing down...that's where you'll find me..._"

Robin walked into the empty staff break room tears spilling over her cheeks from a mix of rage and desperation, pushed to the brink of her own sanity over the course of the last 72 hours. Things at the hospital had been hell since the explosions. They were rotating doctors out, but they still couldn't handle the work load and the patients were suffering for it.

She was at her wits end, needing a moment of release from the exasperation, the stress and foreboding, she felt like she was drowning but there was no one to pull her out. She'd been treading water for so long that if she didn't do something soon she was going to fall apart.

It was the snack machine that caught the brunt of her wrath as she continuously kicked the shit out of it until she exhausted all the pent up frustration and anger vibrating through her. Finally she sank to the floor, head in her hands as she sobbed the rest of it out. It seemed like forever before she came back to her senses, the violent outburst enough to sate her need for release.

They needed gas for the generator or they would start losing all the critical patients, all those on ventilators...

"_Lost til your found...swim til you drown...know that we all fall down...love to you hate...strong til you break...know that we all fall down...If every your world starts crashing down...whenever your world starts crashing out...If ever your world starts crashing down...that's where you'll find me..._"

Ethan had been coming back in to find Jason and the others to let them know that Boober was alright and in the back of the truck. He got sidetracked however when he heard that a man had been found suffering from radiation sickness. The very thing that he and Sam could have gotten. It was a mix of concern and fearful curiosity that had him follow Patrick and the others to his room, standing in the doorway while they worked to get him stable.

That could be him lying there...

Ethan swallowed tightly as he watched them work, thanking whatever was holy that he and Sam had been spared the horror that he saw before him. The man was fighting for breath, burned horribly, and hardly anything remained of his once blonde locks. "How's he doing?" Ethan turned to see a man that he recognized from around the PCPD recently. 'Dante' he thought it was.

"Look for yourself." he replied with a sniff to hide the emotion behind his voice.

Everyone soon grew silent, though, as the man woke for but a moment, his words a fight with every breath he took and all that the whole of the room heard before he passed out once more was...

"They're coming..."

"_We all fall down..."_

_Last song "All fall down" by One Republic._


	7. Chapter 7

**Twist of Fate**

_This story is probably going to run a lot longer than some of the ones I've already finished up that were only like 8 – 10 chapters. Wanted to clear up a few things about the AU versions of some of the other folks. Dante isn't Sonny's son and will not end up with Lulu ( sorry to disappoint anyone that was looking for that). _

_All my appreciation to those reading and reviewing. It's really something to read so many great stories that are out there and it's humbling to be reviewed by authors and readers a like on some truly wonderful sites. I'm grateful. I hope you enjoy!_

**Chapter Seven**

**94 hours after the bombs...**

It was amazing that a person could feel awash with so much amusement and joy and still be so desperately afraid and worried for the others in his life. There were so many hurting, hell they had all been hurting in so many different ways since all of this began but any measure of relief had to be savored when it became available. Lulu had joined Michael as soon as she found out about Johnny and they had gone together to tell Sonny about the patient at the hospital and Johnny and Max missing.

He knew that Johnny and Max were supposed to look for Carly too, so he could only pray that they found her, that they were alright, despite what it looked like. Lucky was still out there too, maybe. Ethan stayed back at the hospital with the patient. Mac couldn't get anyone over there and a lot of the nurses were afraid that they would get radiation sickness from simply taking care of the man.

Jason had other concerns. Emily had been volunteering long hours at the hospital and he couldn't seem to talk reason to her about getting some sleep. Then there was the farm. It was so far out and with things the way they were he needed to check and make sure that everything was in tact. So what could possibly be amusing him in light of the circumstances?

"...So I'm driving out of town like the devil himself is on my heels, trying to steer clear of the cops and oh was it tricky, tricky, tricky, tricky...I love the way that sounds, it's all clicky, tricky...so I made it to the hotel we were supposed to rendezvous at and everyone has already skipped out. Can you believe that? They left. They thought I was caught and left." He'd asked her about Nico and thanks to an abundance of morphine, Sam was all too willing to let him know her part in putting the bastard behind bars.

The fact that she was a former con woman and thief really didn't bother him, because well he knew what it was like to try and start over fresh, and all her actions so far had indicated that she was really trying to make a go at a new life. He wasn't in any position to judge and for the life of him, she looked adorable, trying to make her case.

"I was never caught, ever." Sam assured as if it was a matter of personal pride. Jason tried to bite back a laugh, but it escaped as a soft chuckle. "You have no faith in me?"

"I hardly know you." Jason replied softly, still smiling.

"Oh that's just an excuse. I've known you for a few days and I know all sorts of things about you." Sam lulled her head against the head rest and made sure that she could see his eyes as she went on. "Everyone acts like they can't know a person after a few meetings but when you think about it we just make it all complicated. You're a good person with a kind heart and a penchant for taking in strays. I'd say that means you don't have much family outside of Emily or you don't get along." Jason's smile slowly dwindled as he felt a little uncomfortable at just how close to the mark she was getting. He wasn't so sure about how kind he was or if in fact he'd even done enough penance to ear the title of good person, but she was getting close on the family.

"You're creative, and you only talk when you have something important to say." Sam kept pulling at her seat belt as though it was chaffing uncomfortably against her bandaged ribs. "So you're kind of like a loner artistic type. Oh and you're thoughtful. And you care about your friends and this town. It's really sweet." Sam smiled and Jason felt his heart melting even more. God, she was beautiful and everything about her was so real, as though she wasn't trying to hide anything, like she couldn't afford it and despite the awkwardness of listening to her kind words about what she thought of him, he was only falling further to the prey of his desires for her.

"So do you think I'm horrible now that you know I was involved with Nico? That I used to steal and run cons? I mean I know I'm not a Saint, but I'm trying to be..." Jason heard the longing in her voice as she lulled her head to look out the window. "Different."

"I don't think you were as bad as you think you were, but just from what I've seen since I met you, I'd say you're a pretty exceptional person. You've gone out of your way to make sure everyone you come across is safe and I'd say that makes you a vary caring and empathetic person." Jason paused not sure he should bring up the attack, but he wanted her to know that she was strong, that he believed that she was, to bolster her confidence. "And I know you're a fighter. I didn't see the other guy, but I know he didn't walk out of there unscathed. And you want to prove to yourself that you can make it on your own so it was hard to accept the offer to move out to the farm."

"That was a mutually beneficial agreement." Sam smirked. "I help you, you help me. I'm not that broken up about it."

Jason's smile grew. He wasn't either. In fact he was all sorts of glad that she was moving in. Jason pulled into the garage and turned to see she was half in and half out, the morphine really hitting her hard. He wasn't even sure she should try to get her feet under her. Before he could reach her though she was struggling to get the door open. He managed to get there just in time for her feet to hit the concrete floor and her body to pitch into his. Jason caught her and held her steady until the pant of pain steadied into even breathing. He closed his eyes, bittersweet swirls of emotion as he struggled with his own lust and then anger that Nico was still out there. "I've got you." He promised her while slowly and gently as possible he tenderly pulled her up into his arms, her lithe body resting comfortably there as she looked up to meet his eyes.

Jason froze a moment unable to move, fighting every instinct that was urging his lips closer to hers, praying that his fingers would caress her soft skin, instead of simply cradling her in his arms. Jason mentally shook the thoughts away, reminding himself that she was injured and not at all in any frame of mind to make decisions. The moment he moved he frowned at the hiss that passed her lips from the pain that racked through her body. Goddamn that man...

He didn't have the heart to try and take her to the guest room that Lulu had prepared for her on the second floor, the stairs posing a horror for her ribs, so he took her to his room, the master bedroom, just off from the den on the first floor.

Jason carried her into his room as he had dreamed about for a few nights now and he swallowed tightly at the memories of those dreams, trying to remind himself that this was reality...that she was hurt. She was fading fast in the safety of his arms. Jason gently lay her down, hearing Boober's soft padding from where he'd followed them inside. He grabbed the throw at the foot of the bed and covered her small body, wishing that things were so different...that he'd gotten there in time to stop the attack, that he had killed Nico.

His finger grazed her breast as he pulled the throw up the length of her body and a shiver shot up his spine just as her dark eyes opened with a groan on her lips that sent his whole body trembling. "Jason..." Her whisper was so soft that he leaned in closer to catch anything else that might spill from her lips.

"Sam..." he started but she suddenly raised up, just enough, just enough to throw his whole world off kilter. Her lips met his and everything that Jason though that he knew about life and love was forever lost on the cusp of his soul's desire. It was like she bled her heart into every tender touch, his own responding with just as much fervor, need, want. The dreams couldn't hold a candle to this one moment, as wrong or as right as it was.

It seemed to end an eternity later, as Sam's soft kisses turned to gentle pants and soon she passed out beneath him, the drugs working their cruel kindness to help her heal, leaving him sitting beside her in guilt ridden desire, his whole body screaming for the relief that the cold well water could afford him...

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Hannah Falconeri looked at her toe nails with a mingling of boredom and disdain. She wasn't sure what color to paint them and hell she didn't even know if it made a difference now. No one would see them. She couldn't even leave the house at the moment.

"Want a sandwich?" She heard Gabriel call from the kitchen and sighed.

"I'm not hungry," She called in response to her twins question.

"Like hell you're not." Gabe stuck his head out of the kitchen to catch a look at his sister with a frown. "Starving yourself isn't going to change the situation," He promised her.

"He's right." Both of them frowned as they heard their father's voice from the general vicinity of the front door.

Hannah glared up at Dante when he walked into the room. "As if you know anything..." She replied with anger seeping from every word before she quickly got to her feet and raced past the moving boxes , up the stairs and then disappeared into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Dante looked up the stairs in a mixture of worry and relief as he headed to meet up with Gabe in the kitchen.

"Can you talk to her?" He asked his son with a sigh.

"Not until you tell me what you know." Gabe grabbed his work of art on whole wheat up and jammed the corner of the sandwich into his mouth, before walking out to sit in the living room. He looked back to meet his father's eyes and scoffed with a shake of his head. "That's what I thought..."

Dante threw his hands up in silent frustration before he headed down to the basement leaving his children upstairs so that he could get to work. He made his way into a small room off of the main room and closed the door behind him, his flashlight illuminating a work room filled with maps and a computer desk. He sank into the seat before his boxy looking laptop, plugging a chip into the back, before he booted it up...

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

Sonny stood on the docks looking out over the ship that belonged to someone they knew would never be coming back, a friend of a friend lost in Boston. The guy, Lewis Hardy had been hauling a shipment of foodstuff. Sonny took it upon himself to liberate the shipment so that he could store it in a nearby warehouse in case the towns people needed it later. Mac shut him down about helping with fuel for the hospital generator presumably because he thought he would call in a favor from the gesture later so he had the time to get other things squared away while he waited for news on Carly from Johnny and Max.

"Mr. Corinthos, your son and Johnny's girlfriend are here." Bernie called to him as he supervised the men unloading the shipment. Sonny turned to see Michael and Lulu walking up, having a bad feeling about this.

"Johnny and Max are missing...some guy drove their SUV back into town. He's in pretty bad shape, no one's even been able to get him awake long enough to find out how he got it." Michael told him on the approach. "He's got radiation sickness."

Sonny looked from Michael to Lulu worriedly as he took in the news, seeing that Lulu had been crying quite a bit. "Mac knows?" Sonny needed to know what the police were doing about it before he could decide how to play it from here.

"Yeah but he can't spare any men to watch the guy so Ethan's in there with him." Michael explained. "They're more worried about siphoning enough gas to keep the hospital under power. He's got Ronnie taking on as many new deputies as he can recruit."

Sonny took it in with a slow nod. "Alright. Head back to the hospital. I want you to find out from Ethan if anyone has come to question him and then get back to me, if not then we'll question him ourselves." Sonny met Lulu's eyes. "Johnny's coming home, just like Carly." He said as he switched his gaze to Michael's.

**ZZZZZZZZZZ **

Ethan was still reeling. The guy had woken for all of ten second, just long enough to tell him that he had refugees headed in their direction from Boston. They'd been following the creek which meant that they were all headed towards the farm from the South East. He would need help if they were going to find these people and offer them any sort of assistance.

He knew that no one could be spared from the hospital or even the PCPD. So he went to look for volunteers from Maxie's. He just hoped that he could somehow prompt some of the townsfolk that saving lives was more important than sitting on those bar stools drowning their own sorrows.

**ZZZZZZZZZZ **

Dante's work was interrupted the moment that Ronnie came calling. He looked up as Gabe explained that there was a cop at the door and then quickly exited his war room to meet him at his front door. He soon found that he was being recruited to become the newest deputy of Port Charles and he gladly accepted, needing to stay apprised from the governmental end of the town. His first call to action was menial as they wanted more men that they trusted to help with procuring gas for the hospital generator. So he was sent to simply keep an eye on the guy at the hospital.

Perfect.

Dante walked into the room with a syringe tucked into his sleeve as she looked to see that the patient was all alone. He quickly closed the door and the blinds to the room. Next he slipped the syringe into the man's IV at the back of his hand and he waited for the adrenaline to wake him. He clasped his hand over the man's face as soon as he panted awake knowing that he wasn't going to last long. But this was more important than the both of them...

"Where did you get the car?" He asked first, knowing he had to offer the PCPD something.

"It was on the side of the road..."

Dante nodded quickly. "Why did you go back to Boston, Randy?" He asked him in exasperation. "We said families only...why did you go back..."

"I ...I ...I couldn't...let...them...die..." he replied as best he could, still fighting the pain.

"Now, we're a man down." Dante replied vehemently as he held him steady.

"Th...the...there's a traitor..." Randy panted out and Dante's eyes widened even more worriedly.

"Do you know who it is?" Fear drenched every word.

"You...you...you know...who..." and those were the last words that the man every spoke as his heart gave out under the influence from the adrenaline that Dante had given him...

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

Sam woke hours later with a groan, her mind to muddled to put together how she'd even gotten back to the farm. She frowned pulling herself up, trying to ignore the pain as she shrugged the throw off and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She needed to get up, to try and find whoever was around, to see her dog, to do just about anything but deal with some other crazy drug induced dream. She felt like she was going nuts. She'd dreamed that her van was a giant mushroom occupied by a deadly gang of squirrels hell bent on world domination. And that wasn't even the worst of her nightmares.

Sam was praying that she never ever ever needed morphine again, even welcoming the pain that shifted through her side as she got to her feet. Boober, who normally slept near her wasn't any where to be found. She frowned looking over the room in wonder, having a feeling that it wasn't hers, it had too many personal effects to be a guest room. Her whole train of thought was lost though when Boober suddenly bounded down the hall from the view point of the cracked door and she felt the need to follow the last thread of her life before...

Sam held to her side protectively, cursing Nico silently as she made her way through the house and then out onto the back porch, seeing that Boober was following Jason out into a field that ran beside a creek. Sam smiled for a brief moment her fingers gently touching her lips though she knew not why. A moment later those thoughts were shaken away when she saw spots dotting the area that Jason and Boober were headed in...It looked like tents and people were there but there was no movement in the camp...none...

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

"_Nature, nurture, heaven, and home...sum of all and by them driven...to conquer every mountain shown...but I've never crossed the river...brave the forest, brave the stone...brave the icy winds and fire...brave then beat them on my own...yet I'm helpless by the river..."_

Ethan had managed to wrangle up about 14 volunteers to help find those that had tried to make their way through the wilderness from Boston. They came in a multitude of vehicles all too late...they met on the farm lands finding Jason and Sam already there, walking through the throngs of dead. People who'd fought so hard only to die on the border of their very town.

There were young and old, twenty among them, all dead from the radiation that had blown through Boston. All there had their work cut out from them as they helped in every way they could, moving bodies, digging graves, laying to rest those that they never had a chance to save. When would this end? What had happened out there?

"_Angel, Angel what have I done...I face the quakes the wind the fire...I've conquered country, crown, and throne...why can't I cross this river...Angel, Angel what have I done...I face the quakes the wind the fire...I've conquered country, crown, and throne...why can't I cross this river..."_

The church was packed by nightfall as so many came to mourn the passing of the strangers and to pray for those that they knew were missing or those that had departed. Confusion was running rampant now...what passed as law was stretched so thin...yet Mac made his way up to the pulpit as the priest finished.

Sonny sat in the back with his whole family minus Carly and those that couldn't be found, his kids and body guards surrounding him and Mac met his eyes knowing that soon they wouldn't be able to pretend that they had a truce. What he feared the most was that Sonny was right, that he was going to need him and they would have to put aside all their principles to work together.

Dante Falconeri the guy that Ronnie was vouching for so hard was there with his twins teenagers. Even Maxie came out. And somewhere in the middle sat Jason, Ethan, Lulu and some new woman. Still they were all in this together.

"We buried 20 refugees from Boston today...people looking for help, people dying from something we can't understand. We were ready to help them into our community as a whole, but they died before they could realize that. I need all of you to understand something...We are all in this together...to help...to hope..." Mac looked out across the crowd as he swallowed back his own tears. "If you've lost someone please stand..."

All through the church people rose from all over.

"If you know someone who is missing, please stand..." Mac implored them as nearly the whole of the rest of the church rose to their feet.

Jason rose when asked about the missing as did Ethan, Lulu, and Sam, all of them standing there in reverence for what was being said before them. Sam was still trying to piece together her fractured day and fight the pain from the beating she'd taken before that as she looked through the rows of faithful patrons to the pulpit where Mac now address everyone.

"_Pay no minds to the battles you've won...It'll take a lot more than rage and muscle...open your heart and hands my son...or you'll never make It over the river...It'll take a lot more than words and guns...a whole lot more than riches and muscle...the hands of the many must join as one...and together we'll cross the river..." _

Sam slowly intertwined her fingers with Jason as Mac finished his plea for the town. "The battle we face ahead isn't just for our survival." She knew that, they all did, but it meant something, for someone to say it, to spell it out.

"It's for our humanity..." Jason's fingers likewise found their way around hers as he looked down at her in silent understanding...

"_And together we'll cross the river..." _

_-Last Song " The Humbling River" by Puscifer. _


	8. Chapter 8

**Twist of Fate**

_Thanks so much for all the reviews. I know my muse has been sort of bleh the last few days but hopefully everything gets back to normal soon. I really appreciate all the feedback and those of you who are reading. Hope you enjoy. _

**Chapter Eight**

Mac picked his head up from his desk, feeling papery goodness against stubble before he pried the report from his face. What the department was lacking in professionalism they were making up for with hard work and overtime. They'd hired a handful of deputies and even they were working round the clock, catching naps when they could. Mac blinked in the morning light pouring through the blinds as he got to his feet, heading over to a spare drawer he'd converted to his freshening up station.

He pulled out a mug and a fresh bottle of water, pouring half the room temp liquid into the mug. With a yawn, he made his way to the window, the warmth of the autumn sun giving a little extra warmth as he scooped a few heaps of instant coffee into the mug and stirred it with a red stirrer from a cup on his desk. Mac wrinkled his nose in disgust as he gulped down a few drinks and then grabbed the bottle of water – heading to the bathroom.

Mac set his coffee down on the side of the sink and stopped the stopper before pouring the rest of the water into the small porcelain basin. The water pumps had given out with the lack of electricity. They had a crew coming in to try and get the manual pumps going at some of the sub stations but that was only going to free up some water to a few of the cities grids and they had to prioritize it with the most critical areas, like the hospital and the municipal sector.

So for now, they were in the dark ages. He sniffed, still blinking back sleep as he finally took a gander in the mirror. He looked like he had weathered the last week with only a few precious moments to take care of himself. His day old stubble was a remnant of his half attempt at shaving the day before just so he could feel a little more human. He didn't have time to get a razor from home, so he'd have to settle with washing up.

Mac muddled through getting as clean as he could before heading back out into the hub of the station, just now coming to life as towns folk flocked in with a whole host of problems. He hit the bull pin with an added spring in his step, trying to fake it til he made it as he caught Ronnie's eye. "What did William say about his trip into the wild wilderness?" He'd left Ronnie to question one of their travelers that had headed out with Johnny, Max, Jason, and Sam. William had been headed westward and returned last night.

"He said he saw tanks headed from Portland, North, he was scared to get too close." Ronnie replied quickly. "There were about seven of them and he has no clue whose they were, didn't see any markings."

"Does he know where they were headed?" Mac asked worriedly as he fought down another sip from his mug.

"He thinks maybe towards the National Guard station in Mullberry." Ronnie met his eyes, sharing a worried look. "So they were either headed to add some defense, to mobilize..."

"Or to take them out." Mac finished for him. "Let's hope it's not the latter. Hows the hospital's generator holding up?"

"They're good for another three days, but I don't know where we're going to get the fuel after that, unless you want to commandeer what's in the bigger tanks at the gas stations. We'll need a manual pump to get it out." Ronnie suggested, knowing that Mac didn't want to ask Sonny for the fuel.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Mac nodded. "Alright..." Mac was just about to head out to the front desk to see what was the most pressing problem of the day when all at once a hum roared through the station as all the power came on at once, followed quickly by every phone in the station ringing at once. Tension ran through the station just as surely as the electricity now flowing and Mac turned looking for the closest unmanned phone.

Mac scooped up the receiver bringing it to his ear as did everyone near a desk. The message was the same on every line in Port Charles...

"This is Secretary John Graystone with the department of Home Land Security. This is an activation of the Emergency Broadcasting System. If you are currently safe, please be advised to stay in your current location. Help will arrive soon..." The message started over again and Mac hung up the phone, on the move with purpose.

"Ronnie, take some volunteers and get to the gas station before the pumps go back out..." Mac called.

"You think the power's going to go again?" Ronnie asked as he got to his feet already moving to accommodate.

"I'm not counting on it staying on." Mac hurried into his office to make sure that his cell and police radio was plugged in, charging. He then walked back out into the main office whistling loudly to get everyone attention. "Lets get all the batteries plugged up and charging."

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

Sonny was less than thrilled to learn that the man who'd died at the hospital after having been found in Johnny and Max's SUV had only left the PCPD with the news that he'd found the car on the side of the road. Convenient, considering he died directly after and who the hell was this Dante that had talked to him? All they knew for sure was that he had recently moved to town and that he'd become an asset to the Police department since all hell broke loose. It wasn't settling on any level.

Sonny sent Milo to track information on the guy as best he could, knowing that he needed the distraction to take his mind off of his brother's disappearance. Hell just about everyone needed something to distracted them. In fact he'd sent Michael, Kristina, Morgan, and Molly out to Jason's farm where Michael often summered anyway so that they could help with the work load. He'd heard that the radioactive rain made it so that they had to clear the first 18 inches of top soil in order to plant in the spring and they needed all the help they could get to get the fields in shape.

It wasn't purely without ulterior motive. Sonny knew that they needed all the workable farm land in shape for the spring planting and he needed Jason to know that he could help him if he needed it. He had to bridge that gap if they were all going to survive. He also wanted to help ease the worry and grief that his children were going through. He himself was beside himself about Carly, but he couldn't shut down, he just couldn't. He just prayed that she was alright, that Johnny and Max were fine and that they'd found her and were fighting to bring her home. He was planning on sending out another search team, but he had to wait until morning before it could become a reality because of scheduling conflicts. He was running low on vehicles for everything that needed to be done.

When the power roared back to life all through town he'd sent his guys to feel up on the towns fuel, trying to spare his own. They would need it later...

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

Lulu was the only one in the house when the phone rang, fighting to make sure that all the people working in the fields had something to eat when lunch time came around. It had been a welcome endeavor as she was so horribly worried for Johnny now. The fact that they had hardly any news was not so much good news as far as she was concerned, in fact it was no news! She wanted news. Now! She wanted to know he was alive and well and on his way home, just like her brother. Like her brothers, her father...She'd spent the morning with her mother at Shadybrook but that hadn't brought much peace. Still talking it out helped. Now she felt like she was trying to feed an army.

The power surging on and the phone ringing was just an added bonus. Lulu was smiling from ear to ear even if they couldn't manage to get a call out. She knew the lines were all swamped because everyone had the same idea and she didn't have the time to keep trying, but she felt at the very least as if they were headed in the right direction.

She set back to work without waylaying anyone out in the fields with the news, knowing that they needed to get done what was being done. She was a little worried about Sam though, she's recently gone out to help and Lulu didn't think that she was ready to...not with her ribs like that...

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

Sam felt useless. She'd already come across Jason in the fields and he'd told her in no uncertain terms that he didn't want her working until she was more healed up. Ethan had been a little more forgiving, but once she'd doubled over he'd fallen to Jason's side of things. "I have another idea." He told her finally. Sam looked up to meet Ethan's eyes, hoping that he was offering another idea for how she could help without being a hundred percent.

"Go check out the garden and see if it's holding it's own." Ethan suggested.

Sam furrowed her brows in confusion. "We're in one of the gardens..." She said quizzically.

"No, this is a field, where we plant crops. I meant Jason's garden down by the creek. He's been working on that thing for two years and it would be a shame for it to waste away because of all our worries about spring planting." Ethan smiled back at her. "Just follow the creek to the waterfall...the pond...you can't miss it." Ethan promised her.

Sam smirked all too curious to pass it up. She could walk a lot better than she could so so many things, so she wasn't about to argue with him. She wanted to see it, wanted to see what Jason considered a hobby, and hell a water fall didn't sound all that boring. "I can handle that." She smiled.

Sam set out on her own to find this wonder that Jason had spoken of on the open road, his hobby and after Ethan's she felt sort of like it's protector, she didn't know what to do if she found anything amiss with it, but she liked to think that she could figure it out. She felt like she was getting to know him more and more just by the people that surrounded him.

Sam followed the creek, the sounds of those that were working to preserve the fields falling to the background as she walked further and further into the wild. She was beginning to think that Ethan was playing a cruel joke on her when she finally stumbled into paradise.

Sam felt her heart skip a beat, her breath catch in her throat.

A canopy of crimson and burnt umber melting into the skyline, forever shrouding a cove of wonder, crystal clear bliss on display around perfectly planned foliage and birds, white as any swells on a clear summer's day bursting forth only magnifying the beauty, as rabbits and squirrels darted from the Shangri La that Jason had built for them. Sam felt swells of tears spring to her eyes as she beheld the beauty...

The world hadn't ended. It was just beginning...

Sam sank against a tree trunk, forgetting all about Nico, her ribs, the bombs. The babbling water and the ambrosia of sight all around her capturing her very soul. Jason was an artist, whose day job was a farmer and his creation was her undoing, casting tears of wonder past the pain of all that had happened. Any doubts that she may have entertained about him were fluttering away as she sat in sheer joy, looking out over the masterpiece that he had created.

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

Dusk was settling heavy on the landscape as Jason headed back towards the farm house, his body glistening with the weight of the work load that the day had asked of them all. He's learned of the power coming on, of the phone calls, but all had fallen to the wayside as they had to finish getting the top soil cleared. He headed in the front door only to meet a worried Ethan, missing the sweat glistening against his freshly showered forehead as he caught him.

"Sam, isn't back yet." Ethan told him worriedly.

"What ? I sent her back to the house..." Jason whispered not understanding.

"Well she didn't go back she came to me and I sent her to the garden...I asked her to check on it, I thought it was harmless, something that she could do without feeling worthless." Ethan explained. He was about to suggest going out to look for her when Jason bolted from the porch in horror and took off at a run for the garden. "Or I could just stay here..." He scoffed watching him go after her, a hint of a smile playing on his lips...

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

Jason was so out breath by the time he reached the garden that he had to take a breather at the edge, coming over hands resting on knees as he fought for air while looking out over his little project combing the area for Sam. He looked over he water, cursing Ethan silently as he prayed that she hadn't decided to take a bath or...God the chill too the air would be too much and with her ribs...

Jason pushed himself back up fighting to go on...but stopped...finding her. He felt his heart skip a beat to see her resting against a tree trunk fast asleep. For everything that he had done to make this place a paradise nothing could touch the site of her there, as if she was some sacred flower that he'd just stumbled upon. He couldn't move for the longest time, watching her chest rise and fall in the serenity of the sound, the birds and animals having adjusted to her presence. She was like an angel fallen...stuck between heaven and earth with him.

It was the nightfall that quickened his response as he realized that they shouldn't be out here all alone at night, the temperature dipping so close to freezing in the midnight hours already. Jason knelt beside her and pushed a stray lock from her face, seeing her rouse as he couldn't hide the smile that sprang to life inside him. "Sam..." he whispered as her sable eyes met his. He couldn't force out another word though...not yet, lost there...

"I thought I was dreaming you..." She whispered with a tony scoff of wonder, her eyes darting down to his lips. Jason almost looked away as his tongue tickled his lips nervously.

"I just got here..." He finally replied.

"Right on time then..." Jason felt her fingers wrap around his neck as she pulled him close. He couldn't fight. There wasn't a force on earth strong enough...

Their lips crashed against each other as he gingerly reminded himself somewhere in the back of his mind that she was still fragile, but the rest of the war was lost, all wagering on nightfall and the chill gone as his body pressed against hers, the both of them fighting as clothes melted to the backdrop of thought, the pull and tug of desire engulfing them both...

**ZZZZZZZZZZ**

"_Frame ghost left perfume on pillow...room without a halo...losing my sleep...almost on and off in echos...time is passing so slow...dragging me deep...I can't make anything out of might've beens...Will tomorrow bring all into light..." _

Port Charles had been lost on those that were outside it's grasp, working in fervor to preserve Maxie's and so many others when fire erupted from power surges from the sudden influx of power. Sonny and his men worked along side Mac in an effort to contain the catastrophe, and while Maxie's burned they had to maintain the main cusp of town.

Maxie watched in horror as her bar became a charred memory on the towns mind even as so many helped to try and make it right.

"_When you are near me...when you are here...I see...all that I am made of ...and all that I am...when you are near..." _

Jason had no fight left in him as his and Sam's bodies became one, right there, without question, without doubt, their passion ignited in a single breath of her lips touching his, of their frantic disregard for covering...their joined bliss as if a beacon telling the whole of the world that it hadn't gone mad.

"_Waylaid... television headache...bursting into daybreak...losing my sleep...I don't fear anything...in this place we're in...will tomorrow bring all into light..."_

Kristina had seen what so many others had not as she watched Ethan Lovette from afar. She'd seen his deteriorating condition, worried that he was suffering as her mother might have... and she was the one that found him collapsed against the basement stairs, shivering from a fever that shouldn't have been...

"_When you are near me...when you are here...I see...all that I'm made of...and all that I am...when you are near..." _

Sam came up for breath only long enough to drag Jason back down with her as they danced in a sea of agony's sweet symphony, still treading the waters of lust as they couldn't fathom that which was happening at the farm or town, their own need, their own desire, taking front seat to everything else...

"_When you are near..." _

_- Last song "When you are near" by Carolina Liar. _


	9. Chapter 9

**Twist of Fate**

_Thanks for the patience, guys. It's been a rough few weeks, but things are looking up. I really love all the comments and think a lot of you folks. Thanks also for the thoughts and prayers. I appreciate them. Well here's the update. I hope you guys enjoy :)_

**Chapter Nine**

They could have stayed lost in the garden all night...if the temperature wasn't swiftly dipping below freezing. Tangling was magical and untangling a heartache, but they settled on a compromise in which they walked back – tangled. Sam snuggled closer to Jason as he used his coat to warm the both of them, draped semi perched over both their shoulders. It was a stretch but it worked.

"I can see now why you do it..." Sam shivered out as they headed through one of the fields. Boober padded behind them He'd been hunkered down waiting in the garden, having followed Sam on her initial traipse to the place.

"Why I do what?" Jason kissed her head as they walked, comfortable as his arm hung protectively around her. He'd been scared that he would hurt her ribs when they came up for air long enough to think straight, but she wasn't complaining so he hoped that meant that it was all pleasure and no pain.

"Garden." She turned her head into the kiss, closing her eyes as she savored it.

"I thought it was part of my job description." Jason teased her about their conversation earlier.

"Not that gardening." Sam laughed out, wincing slightly at the pain that wavered through her ribs from the act. "That's the most amazing – beautiful..."Sam stopped herself for a breath trying to find the right word, but it was so hard to come up with. "I know It has to sound cliche, but magical."

"You're the first person other than my immediate family and friends who's seen my garden." Jason smiled at the compliment, glad that she'd fallen in love with it.

"I'm honored." Sam felt a glimmer of pride at that. If it was just friends and family – then it wasn't a dedication to another woman. It wasn't some special spot for him and an ex.

Their conversation was cut short when they both came into view of the house and Sam gasped seeing the electricity had been restored. "Oh – Wow."

"It's amazing, what's amazing nowadays." Jason smiled brightly, loving the awe and wonder he saw in her eyes. Their act of love making wasn't a hot topic of discussion, but there was no awkwardness settled between them. In fact there was a euphoric peace settled there instead.

"It really is." Sam chuckled softly. Her laughter soon died in her throat though as she narrowed her eyes at the ruckus that was occurring on the front porch as Lulu and Kristina swarmed around a wobbly Ethan, barely on his feet between the two as they were walking him towards Lulu's retrieved SUV.

"Hey!" Jason called to get their attention as he and Sam picked up the pace, rushing towards them. "What happened?" Boober wined his own worry at the shouting as he sensed Sam's fear.

"It's okay, boy," Sam whispered to him as she ruffled the fur atop his head with a heartfelt petting. She wasn't sure that she was being truthful, but there was hope.

"He's sick!" Lulu called back her voice choked with tears as Jason felt his heart take a nose dive into his stomach while Sam looked on worriedly.

Jason and Sam's minds were swirling down a dark road as they both realized that Ethan could be succumbing to radiation sickness and that if that was true then it could be a matter of time before she was also suffering the same fate.

They hurried their pace to the others and met them at the SUV just in time to hear...

"I don't need to go to the hospital. I'm fine. I just ate something bad or something." Ethan defended his stance on just heading to bed.

"No, you are not going to get out of this. Robin said that you needed to come back immediately if you started showing any symptoms of radiation sickness." Lulu chastised him. "Between the fever and puking your guts up on the kitchen floor I'd say that qualifies!"

Sam felt fear sinking in deep. 'Oh God...God' She'd thought that she had skirted a death sentence that they were free of the curse of the rain, but if Ethan was sick because of it. She was suddenly feeling quite queasy.

"You're going, Man!" Jason called to Ethan as he finally left Sam's side to help get the man into the car while Lulu raced around to get to the driver's seat.

Sam hurried to the young woman's side who was clearly distraught over the whole ordeal. She placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "I'm sure he's going to be okay." She promised her. He had to be. He was quickly becoming one of her best friends and God he didn't deserve this and if he was sick...Sam swallowed tightly. "He's going to be just fine." She prayed.

Boober watched the excitement with a worrisome whine.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZZ**

"Hey Johnson!" Nico looked up, responding to his new name, Richard Johnson. He was posing as a prison guard and had been deputized and much to his surprised even despite Sam's report of what had happened, no one was on to him. He blamed it on disorganization in the aftermath of the world falling apart, and loved it.

"Just got a call to see about some poaching, lets check it out." Ronnie called to him, the two becoming fast friends since his deputizing.

"Alright!" Nico called all too willing to comply. He wanted to be on the inside, to use the law and disarray to his advantage. He was all too happy that the local authorities were supporting him in the endeavor.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Jason watched Lulu pacing hands raised to cover her mouth as she muttered something so softly that he couldn't hear her. He was getting more and more worried about her. It was bad enough to that Lucky, Luke, and Nicholas were all out of town, more than half of them out of the country, Johnny was still missing and now Ethan was falling ill. They all had to face loss on a massive scale but Lulu had to feel like she was losing everyone in her family.

Jason started to push himself off the wall he was leaning against to console her but pause when he saw Sam intercept her with a cup of coffee. A hint of smile played at his lips as he sank back unable to take his eyes off them.

"How you holding up?" Sam asked softly as she ran a hand up and down Lulu's arm comfortingly.

Lulu made a scoffing noise over the edge of her cup after she took a sip as her response.

"Yeah, that's about how I'd be holding up if it was my brother...If it makes you feel any better, we got the same dose of radiation." Sam offered. "It could be something else. Something less scary."

"That's what I keep praying." Lulu nodded.

"And hey the hospital's back to full power, I'm sure that's got to help in patient care." Sam steered the both of them to the row of chairs near where Jason was perched. Lulu sank into a seat next to Kristina who had fallen asleep at an awkward angle, snuggled into a tiny ball in the chair.

"I just keep going round in circles, wondering what's going on out there, where Lucky is, Johnny. I mean when did we start living in a world where we even had to worry about radioactive rain?" Lulu sniffed back a wave of tears and got another sip of her coffee. "Someone has to know what's going on out there, what happened, right?"

"Someone does. It's just taking time to get the news back to us." Sam nodded. "But the power's back and the phones, as soon as the novelty of having technology back wanes I'm sure the system will get uncongested and we can actually call out."

Lulu smiled sadly at that, the comfort bittersweet. "I'm sure my Dad's trying to make it back here already, but it would be nice to call him and actually hear his voice. This not knowing is..."

"Maddening," Sam nodded in agreement. She felt the same way just trying to be patient in finding out what was wrong with Ethan and in wondering where Nico was now. Sam looked up as Patrick Drake made his way into the room his face betraying neither a good or bad verdict as everyone rose to hear the news.

"Ethan has blood poisoning." Patrick explained quickly, not wanting to draw out the suspense as he could see they were already emotionally battered. "It's not radiation sickness but it is serious. I think it was probably a combination of a weakened immune system in the wake of his injured ankle." He paused as Lulu nodded along. "He's showing no signs of radiation sickness, but his condition is still critical. We're going to have to admit him and keep him here for as long as is takes to get the infection under control." He explained.

Sam let out a breath, not sure if she was relieved or not. On the one hand that meant that she had a better chance of not coming down with the same thing, but Ethan was still suffering and that meant everyone around him was as well. Sam wrapped her arm around Lulu's shoulder hugging her gently, Jason offering his other arm as he did the same.

"So he's going to be alright then, once he gets the medicine he needs and rest?" Lulu asked quickly wanting to make sure that she was understanding him correctly, that he was actually offering her that hope. She frowned when Patrick shifted from one foot to another as if he was trying to think of a way to break it to her.

"I think he has an excellent chance to make a full recovery." Patrick worded it just right but even Sam could read between the lines.

"But..." Lulu prodded him further.

"Everything has risks, Lulu. I can't tell you for certain how Ethan is going to respond, but we're doing everything we can for him." He promised her. "I think he's got an..."

"I know, I know an excellent chance...Thanks Dr. Drake, sorry I'm just..." Lulu tried to explain, but Patrick cut her off.

"There's no need, we're all at the end of ourselves a lot easier these days." He nodded in understanding. "We're having to double up rooms, so you'll have to wait til morning to see him." Patrick explained reluctantly.

Lulu's face fell, but she gave a begrudging nod in understanding. She knew the hospital was still severely understaffed. Patrick excused himself and Jason gave Lulu a soft squeeze before looking to her and Sam with a relieved sigh.

"Why don't you two head back to the farm and get some sleep. I know you're going to want to come back up here first thing in the morning." He said pointedly to Lulu before looking to Sam. "And you're not supposed to be over doing it with your ribs in the shape their in." God that was just another reminder that he wanted to kill that bastard.

"So I guess I didn't over do it earlier then?" Sam arched an eyebrow playfully at him. Lulu was too worried to even catch the flirtatious tease but Jason smirked.

"You need rest," He shook his head and he mentally added 'So we can overdo it again.' He looked to Lulu again though and then Kristina, still asleep. "I'll take Kristina home and I want to check on Emily. I'll meet you guys back here in the morning." Jason explained the plan and then looked to them both expectantly to see if it was good for everyone else.

"Sounds good." Lulu sighed wearily.

"To me too." Sam nodded though in a way it wasn't. She didn't want to go home without him, waiting all night to see him once more. She'd had the wonderful notion before Ethan fell ill that she might just sneak into his bed for another round of overdoing it before dawn broke over the horizon. So much for that plan. It was probably for the best though, she was feeling the sharper ache of the break and Lulu might need her. And well Jason might have been a little weirded out to wake with Boober snuggled up on his feet.

Sam met Jason's eyes catching a glimpse of longing to match her own as they parted ways for the night, Sam walking with Lulu back out to the SUV.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Jason walked Kristina up the front walk to Sonny's compound not exactly thrilled with the idea of dropping Kristina off at the front gate. He was let in with ease, but felt awkward and at the focus of every pair of eyes on them as he made his way to the front door. "I know it seems like the whole world is falling apart right now..." Jason stopped himself as he realized what he was saying. It was amazing what things were taken for granted in normal conversation and while a week ago that statement might have been less horrifying because of the notion that the world would always hold it together, right now he realized just how horrible it was. "I mean..."

Kristina scoffed with a smile and a shake of her head. "I'm just tired Jason, not about to fall apart." She promised him. It had been hard talking about her mother and she still wasn't ready, but she knew when she did that she could still come to Jason or Lulu. Jason may have stopped working for her Dad a long time ago, but he's always been in the picture for her and Michael and Morgan and Molly.

"I wasn't sure that this thing with Ethan hadn't upset you more than you let on. I mean you were pretty upset." Jason worried as he had seen the way Kristina eyed Ethan and while on some level he knew she was 18 it was a strange notion to even think of the two of them together on any level other friendship.

"I found him passed out, we talked a while today and he's been a good friend. I was upset." Kristina shrugged worriedly. "I still am."

Jason regarded her with an angled glance as if trying to sum her up, but having no luck. " He's going to be fine." He finally reassured her. "So get some sleep, you can see him tomorrow."

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

"You would think with the lights back on that the looting and poaching would slow up." Ronnie shook his head at the level of lawlessness that had ensued following the chaos of loss of communications and power. Now it felt like they were finally getting back into the real world.

They'd already been out on one poaching report and now he and his new partner, the prison guard from the wrecked correctional bus were headed out on another call. Johnson wanted to stay out in the field as much as possible so that he could keep a look out for the escaped prisoner and Ronnie could respect that.

"Chaos breed corruption." Nico actually loved that about chaos, was loving the show so far.

"That's deep, Man." Ronnie nodded as he thought about it. "And very true."

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

"So you were in the garden with Jason for a while." Lulu pulled out onto the main drag of highway that led away from town to the farm. She hadn't missed all the little looks and the lines, she had just been so worried, to worried to really think about while it was happening.

"Yeah, we uh..."

"If you say talked you are so losing my respect." Lulu snickered.

"A lady doesn't kiss and tell." Sam teased her back.

"So there was kissing." Lulu laughed in triumphant glee at that, her spirits lifted at the joy that Sam and Jason were getting closer.

"You could say that." Sam wasn't really nervous to talk about it with someone else, but she wasn't exactly sure what their relationship was headed towards and she didn't know how Jason would feel about her talking about their – whatever it was to one of his best friends.

Sam narrowed her eyes looking in the rear view to see headlights coming up on them fast and she sighed thinking that they were simply about to be passed, leaving them alone again to tackle the conversation once more.

What she didn't know was that all her reserves about conversation topics were about to be the least of her worries – as high above in the atmosphere, barely visible for longer than a second there was a brilliant flash that sent out a rippling shock wave unnoticeable to most...

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

"_Out here when you light a smoke on the porch...you can hear the paper burning...The moon is the only light...in the silence you can hear it turning...Down over the ridge by the highway...you'll hear the cars, they come and fade...It's like that out here...you can hear things for miles else... and miles away."_

Jason met Sonny's eyes for the second time in the last week and it was feeling like far too often an occurrence as he could see the gears turning in Sonny's mind, thinking that he was just one more nudge from coming back to work for him. He had another thing coming if he thought that it was ever going to happen. Kristina disappeared into the house and headed upstairs for bed as Jason started to excuse himself. He was just turning around on the front step with the light lit the sky for just a brief moment.

With a pop of frying circuits everything as far as the eye could see went out, not just the lights...cars driving down the road right in front of the gates stalled out as the computers wired into the engine crashed. Jason gasped as he realized what had just happened. Oh God. They really were under attack.

"Was that a..." Sonny started as he walked to his former friends side, fear betrayed in his quivering voice.

"Electromagnetic Pulse, yeah Sonny, it was an EMP. Every circuit board in the area is toast." Jason nodded. "Welcome to the dark ages."

"_Out here I make the only human lights...I am the only human sound...It's my privilege to lie awake at night...and think of what I have lost...and hope for what might be found...Out here you'll find out who your friends are...when the darkness comes and kills the day...There's an ache in every corner of the heart...for the ones who are miles away."_

Patrick and Robin were finally sitting down for the first hot meal in days in the hospital cafeteria. They were both exhausted practically living at the hospital never getting to see each other, it was hell on repeat. "I started Ethan on a round of Augmentin, Did you know the pharmacy is out of Cipro." He sighed wearily.

"We're out of a lot of things. The shipment didn't come in from Creekside." Robin nodded as she shoveled a fork full of chicken into her mouth. At least she though it was chicken. Five days in with no refrigeration and they were pretty much on canned meat at the moment.

"We're not gonna have anything left to treat patients with If something doesn't give." Patrick was feeling the strain all too real at the moment. It didn't help that at that precise moment a pop sounded through the hospital as the power went out and the back up generators didn't kick in, their precious computer chips fried.

"_Out here there's always work to be done...and I do what I can...Came down to a choice...love or run...I ran...Winter will come and get a hold of my heart and squeeze...and I will long for your touch...Wonder what kind of fool am I when I leave it...if I loved it so much."_

Lulu and Sam were giggling, the both of them glad for the release of tension in light of the current situation. It was so great to make a friend so quickly. Sam smiled at just how well she seemed to be doing in the wake of the world gone mad. Lulu frowned though at the approaching headlights reeking havoc with her night vision as she adjusted the rear view.

"I wish they would hurry and go around." Sam sighed as she turned to look out the back window as if that would somehow help get her better look in the night.

"Me too." Lulu got out in frustration. "Holy..." Sam turned back around just in time to see a flash in the night sky and then suddenly the car sputtered the engine dying on the spot, right there at 55 mph, light and all. They coasted to a stop on the side of the highway and looked to see that the cop car behind them was doing the same.

What the...

"_Out here...nothing comes easily..." _

_Last song " Out here" by Peter Mulvey_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Twist of Fate**_

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter Ten**

**Two Weeks after the EMP...**

Mac sat on the front steps that led to the entrance of the courthouse, sipping on a water as he watched some of the local boys playing a game of cellphone ball. He'd been getting onto them all week, but they'd come to a compromise. So long as they disposed of the broken bits from the phones and they kept the game play set in the park away from possibly breaking windows– he let it go.

He watched as Morgan hit a particular far reaching shot and gave a cheer from his perch. There was chill to the air, but it was nice for now, good for mid day, good for his lunch moment. He reluctantly climbed to his feet, wishing he had the time to watch the game play out as he made his way towards the hospital to get a progress report. He passed the grocery on the way, frowning to see Sonny sitting out front playing card with a handful of his guys.

Sonny bought the grocery about a week previous and was now in the process of trading for supplies as most monetary exchanges ceased around the same time. Now the only way to get the goods that were stocked was to make a deal with the devil. Mac caught Sonny's eyes with a frown of disgust, Sonny offering a knowing smile as Mac simply looked away and continued on towards his destination. Son of a bitch wanted to be King of Port Charles.

Mac narrowed his eyes as he neared Maxie's old place and saw that they were moving equipment over to the bar across the street. He made his way over. "Hey!" He called as he spotted Maxie directing traffic. She made her way over energetically. "What are you guys doing?" He asked in wonder. He knew her place wasn't operational but she didn't own the bar across the street.

"What, it's empty and Sam's all missing. We're just, fixing it up for her." Maxie smiled brightly.

"You planning on running it for her too?" Mac asked suspiciously.

"Just til she gets back." Maxie smirked. Maxie didn't really think she was coming back, which is why she was here.

"When she gets back, You better relinquish control, Max." Mac warned her.

"Of course!" Maxie said in mock shock as if she would ever try and steal something right out from under someone. "You headed to the hospital for the afternoon report?" She asked him quickly.

"Yep." He nodded. "Tanner's over at the courthouse, if you need anything get someone to him." he let her know who was where. Communication was relying heavily on word of mouth and limited by the ability to travel at the moment. Most everyone that didn't own farmland had moved into town but those on the farms were struggling, having to use horses and bicycles to get back and forth. Things were definitely different.

Mac said his goodbyes and got back on his way giving a cursory glance when he passed the dead gas station. It had been depleted long ago and now sat as a lifeless shell. Jason had already asked to use it as a farmers market come spring and next fall. Mac wasn't sure but he wasn't planning on help at the moment so provided no oil company giant came through he was all for it.

Mac finally headed into the hospital lobby and smiled as Kristina got to her feet heading in his direction. "I've got the med records and the food needs list." She told him immediately as if she was used to these daily meetings. She was volunteering her time and he was really coming to respect her despite what her father was doing.

"Thanks, Sweety." He said as she handed him the handwritten lists. "I'll get Mark on the grocery list and see if we can find any of the meds you guys need." He said as he gave the lists a look over. "How's Ethan?" Mac knew why she was here, really. Lulu was still missing and Kristina was looking after Ethan. Mac had learned that he had some infection that the antibiotics had stopped fighting and they were out of what he needed.

"He slipped into a coma last night." Kristina replied on the verge of tears, though she was fervently trying to hide it. "Molly's upset. She's been helping out too the last few days, swear she remembers that kid she knows made ice out of water and fertilizer but she can't remember how. She'd experimenting at the moment, but it's keeping her busy. She thinks she can help cool him off." Kristina sighed. "What about you? Hows the station fairing?"

"That's nice of her and it's nice of you to help out here too. Don't you worry about the station, we're doing fine. " He promised her. "I'm sorry to hear that Ethan isn't doing well. I wish that there was something that I could do."

"You could find his sister." Kristina wasn't blaming him, just wishing he could find her and Sam. "Maybe she could help him through this better." Her smile was watery as she fought back the tears.

"We haven't stopped looking." Mac assured her. And they hadn't it just became more difficult. They'd found Lulu's SUV out on the highway leading back to the Morgan Farm and a cop car behind it, with Ronnie's body dumped in the front seat like an after thought. No one knew who to blame at the moment. Johnson and Sam were favorite speculations as they were both new to town, but the simple truth was that no one knew what happened out there and three people were missing. "Thanks for the reports, Krissy, see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." She nodded and they said their goodbyes as he made his way out.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Johnny Zacchara shifted the backpack on his shoulder as he walked in frayed measures of normalcy back towards Port Charles. He was scared that his mind was playing tricks on him, that the features that reminded him of home were mere figments of his imagination. He couldn't be close could he? Not after so long. It had been three weeks of hell and he was ready to see his girl, his town, hell even his boss. He wanted to know that the place he remembered wasn't so swiftly becoming some fictitious Shangri-la in his mind.

He walked past the abandoned cars on the side of the road without much of a glance as they were a familiar sight to him, he did look to see if there was anything useful inside each, though. It was hard on the road, the only reason he'd survived was because of his experience as an enforcer and even that hadn't helped Max. Johnny looked to his feet as the memory crossed his mind and he sniffed it back, wishing not to remember.

Life was different now.

He just prayed as he did every night and morning that things were better in Port Charles. He hit another long stretch of nothing and held both arms outstretched as he bellowed out. "Lulu, Love, You're like lemon drops on a hot summer day," He had long forgone the idea that screaming out random ideas was strange. It was a way to keep sane out here. "All the stars shine for you..." He called as though she could actually hear him. He knew he was half delirious but that's what happened when you spent too much time alone and were running low on water. "When they come out." He muttered much quieter with a sigh.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Jason looked down at Damien Spinelli with a huff of an exhale. "So is it mine or not?" He asked ready to pull his gun if Spinelli changed his mind. He wasn't leaving the space cadet's place until he had a working car under his possession. Mr. Survival had a mountain side garage and therefor two working vehicles in his possession as the rock had protected the vehicles from the EMP. He'd promised the nerd a percentage of his crops if he let him have the least one gas guzzler of the two of them that the man possessed.

Spinelli looked up with a sigh. "You can have the Honda." He nodded as she tossed him the keys. Jason caught them without trying and have him a nod as a goodbye as he headed out the door. Damn kid. He had a lot going for him and lots of bargaining power but he was going to get himself killed if he didn't get down off his high horse. Sonny would see to it.

Sonny did have a few working vehicles but Jason wouldn't bargain to use them. He had been on horse back and on bicycle while searching all over for Sam and Lulu, now at his wits end. How far could two weeks on foot provide them and why hadn't anyone seen them. The police had all but given up and while he shouldn't blame them, he did.

He'd had literally stumbled onto the girl of his dreams in the midst of an insane country implosion and now here was he was searching for her all over again. Not just Sam though, Lulu was like his sister and she was missing as well and he was trying to keep Ethan's spirits up but the man had just slipped into a coma and Jason was lost. He needed something to go right, dammit. He needed to find them.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Sam walked hand and hand with Lulu, both their lips chapped as hell as they made their way at a slow sway into town. Dammit all to hell, they were cold and tired and traumatized and didn't want to even think about the mess that they left behind them. They just wanted to go home.

"You think Ethan is alright?" Lulu didn't even look to Sam as she asked the whisper of a question. He was the one solid she had to cling to.

"I'm sure he is." Sam nodded softly in exhaustion and dehydration. The both of them were past the point of vapid conversation, only showering each other with certain outbursts as they walked zombie like towards Port Charles.

"_This stories missing a wishing well...no mirror to show and tell...No kiss that can break the spell...I'm falling asleep...Every prince is a fantasy...the witch is inside of me...her poison will wash away...the memory..." _

Johnny narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of a couple of women making their way down the road ahead of him and he broke into a run to catch up. He was wondering if it was road shock when he first thought he saw Lulu but he soon came to realize that it was really her even before he made it to them.

Johnny was careful – he knew not to spook them so he called out while holding his arms up in surrender, praying that he wasn't the one that was delusional. "Lulu!" He screamed longingly. He watched in heart wrenched agony as she slowly turned to take him in, years making a home as she slowly took him in.

"_We kill the lights and put on a show...it's all a lie...but you'd never know...This star will shine and then it will fall and you will forget it all..." _

Kristina sank into the seat by Ethan's bed side and took his hand in hers, letting the softness of her cheek feel the back of his hand lovingly. "I talked to Robin, She said that they might be able to get some drugs from a neighboring town, if we could send someone out. I told her I would go." She whispered to him softly, not realizing that Molly was in the doorway.

"You can't." Molly whispered out in horror.

Kristina turned to find her sister and frowned worriedly. "I didn't say I was, I'm just trying to give him hope." She explained as best she could, though she knew that in a heartbeat she would be out there for him.

"_And after midnight we're all the same...no glass shoe to bring us fame...nobody to take the blame...we're falling apart...every story's a waiting game...a flower for every name...their colors are failing in the paling rain..." _

Dante typed frantically as he tried to find an answer to his most pertinent questions. He had a lot to answer for but much more to find out if he wanted to keep everyone here safe, including his family. He was a traitor to some and a hero to others, but as the lines of communication were all mucked up it was hard to say where he fell currently. He just had to keep up the current ruse to keep his kids safe and to somehow bring those responsible for all this crap to justice.

Damn what everyone else thought about him in the interim.

"_We kill the lights and put on a show...it's all a lie...but you'd never know...The star will shine and then it will fall and you will forget it all..." _

Jason headed out into no where, wishing he knew where to start to look for Sam and Lulu. He'd already spent weeks searching for them while his field hands worked on promises of part of the crop to keep them in business. He could only pray that he was looking in the right area as he headed back towards where they'd first disappeared.

He felt a moment of relief when he spotted three people walking ahead of him and slowed up, praying that he'd finally found them. But what had happened to them for the last two weeks?...

"_Now you know...it's so much better to pretend...there's something waiting for you here...every letter that you wrote has found it's way to me my dear..." _

Sam turned at first when she heard someone calling for Lulu. Then there was this whole reunion that Sam couldn't help but fall in love with as she watched as Johnny forfeited the rest of his water for the both of them. She partook in earnest, re hydrating as well as she could. Then she heard the unfamiliar purr of a vehicle and they scrambled on instinct.

Sam peered over the edge of the ditch they dove into for cover when she saw Jason coming around the side of the vehicle. Oh. God. Sam watched as he came to a stop as he walked out. Johnny and Lulu were lost in reunion as she came up for Jason to see her.

"Sam?" She was on her feet when his arms encircled her.

"_You can make believe that what you say is what I want to hear...I'll keep dancing through this beautiful delusional career...faking every tear...looking like a compromised suicide...keeping all my dreams alive..."_

Mac looked at the sheet of medications the hospital was missing as he cross referenced them with other cities and their likelihood to have them. They needed a plan, some way to get to where medication might still be present. He just didn't have anyone he could send, not yet...

"_We kill the lights..." _

_- Last song " Kill the lights" by The Birthday Massacre_


	11. Chapter 11

**Twist of Fate**

**:)**

**Chapter Eleven**

The reunion wasn't everything that he hoped for as Johnny could tell that something was wrong, something very wrong. He just couldn't fathom what it was and every time he near broached the topic Lulu either changed the subject or shot him a pleading look to leave it be. He was compliant for now, but he wasn't letting it go. It was apparent also that aside from whatever shock she'd taken, she and Sam were both in need of a good night's sleep... or four, and some nourishment. He handed the both of them some bottled water as he looked to Jason seeing that he was just as worried about them.

It was left alone though, the brimming tension edged in deep as they made their way in to town so that Johnny could get his report to Sonny and Mac and so that Lulu could check on Ethan. Driving into town was slow as the streets had become thought of more as walkways and Jason had to slow up in order to keep his hit and runs to a nil. At the station a crowd was gathering as some had spotted Johnny in the car and word of mouth was passing as fast as some could bike into town.

Johnny hugged Lulu to him as they fought their way into the station and were led into the bull pin where everyone gathered to hear what had happened. Jason protectively shielded Sam as they followed them in and found a spot near the back to hear it all out. Jason looked up as he saw Sonny coming with his normal entourage looking dark and dangerous as the crowd moved out of fear to let him through to his man, just as Mac arrived from his office.

People were screaming questions at him just to be heard over everyone else and Mac finally had to blow a whistle to get everyone's attention, giving the floor to one of his deputies, Dante. "Everyone just calm down and let him talk." He called as he looked to Mac and Johnny with a nod.

"Thanks," Johnny nodded back as he got a sip of water before he started. "Me and Max landed in a tent city outside of Cape Elizabeth. We ended up under quarantine. There's some virus – the Ballast mountain virus – they think it was a biological attack that hit Chicago it's spreading fast. They thought they had a case in the tent city. We were there for days, no one was sick, but they weren't even bringing in food or water, people were dying anyway. It was a mess. Max and I broke out and hitched our way back north. We ended up with a supply truck bringing water to a FEMA camp in Augusta."

"So FEMA's out there?" Mac's voice was choked with relief as Johnny gave a slight nod.

"We never made it that far. There was a couple of cars in the middle of the road about five miles outside Augusta, if FEMA's there they have one hell of a problem on their hands. A couple of dozen guys jerked us out of the truck Max and me we fought, but there were two many of them. Max was gone before I could even get to him, beaten to death in the road over a few cases of water. I had to make a run for it, barely made it out alive." Johnny swallowed tightly, sniffing back the tears that were threatening to come.

There was a long moment of silence as everyone took in what happened to Max before someone forced out a question. "Did you find out which cities were hit? Was New York one of them?"

"No, New York wasn't hit. They've gotten good since 9/11. They caught the guys, had a twenty kiloton nuke in a steel drum in the back of a truck." Johnny explained.

"What about D.C.?" Someone else asked.

Johnny looked up blinking back tears. "D.C.'s gone. So is Atlanta, San Diego, Denver, Raleigh, Philadelphia, Topeka, Knoxville, Baltimore, Boston, Seattle, and those are the nukes, the bio attack was in Chicago, and Colorado Springs, Nashville, Kansas City, and Roswell." Johnny sniffed again as he watched Lulu cover her mouth in growing horror fighting her own tears. "No one knows where the governor of Maine is, there's about four or five different U.S. governments stepping up to take over different regions of the U.S. The one in New York is the closest to us."

Murmurs ran rampant through the crowd as everyone listened in shock. Lulu couldn't take it any more though. She hurried out of the police station and Sam followed after her worriedly, Jason right behind them. Sam caught Lulu as she doubled over gagging on a wave of bile that never quite made it past her lips as she fought getting sick right then and there just past the steps of the station on the street. Sam ran a hand over her friends back lovingly as she looked back to Jason, tears slipping down her face.

Sam didn't know what to say. What comfort could you offer after the news they had all just received. The shock just had to be worked through. Johnny made his way out soon after the three of them, leaving the crowd back to discuss the news he had offered so far. He watched as Lulu straightened and met his eyes wearily, her spirits dredging the gutter. Johnny crossed the expanse between them and drew her into his arms offering her the one promise of hope he had left. "The U.S. Was the only one hit, no one else...Nicholas and your Dad, where ever they are, they're fine." Johnny promised her.

Lulu pulled back in wide eyed wonder and let out a cry of relief as she hugged him again, her tears bittersweet now.

"Jase?" Jason turned to see Emily headed in their direction with Boober padding along beside her. Boober broke for a run, snapping the leash from her hand as soon as he saw Sam and he nearly plowed her over, getting a surprised yet delighted cry from Sam as she ended up on her rear on the bottom step leading up to the station. "Oh my God, Lulu, Johnny, Sam!" Emily cried out in joy as she quickly got to the hugging herself. It was Jason that she hugged first. "You found them!" She exclaimed excitedly.

Jason hugged his sister back tightly, wishing he could say that he found them all in better circumstances. He didn't want to tell her just how bad things were falling apart out there. He pulled away to hear Sam playfully talking to Boober in affectionate greeting as he assaulted her with his tongue in happy reunion. "If he couldn't take my arm off, I might get jealous." Jason chuckled finally, glad to have something to laugh about considering.

Sam looked up past the tufts of fur and smiled.

"So what's been going on?" Emily asked and realized as soon as the words were out of her mouth that it wasn't the right time to ask as everyone lost their smiles and slowly looked her way. She lost her smile as well and licked at her lips nervously. "Another time." She whispered out. She looked to Sam changing to the subject to something more benign. "He's been going nuts without you." She said about Boober. "I've been keeping him when Jase is in town."

"Thank you, he looks great." Sam said as she pulled her back to her feet and gave Emily a warm hug. "I really appreciate it. I promise I'll being him to visit. I know he grows on you fast."

"Oh yeah, I don't know what's I'll do without a bed buddy, now."

"Oh God," It finally dawned on Lulu as she whirled. "Only the U.S. Got hit, Emily, Nick is fine in Paris!" She told her as she burst out with the hope that Johnny had just given her a moment ago. It had just taken her a moment to be able to think straight enough to tell her friend. "I should tell Ethan, too. Is he back at the house?" Lulu asked as she turned on Jason who paled.

"Lulu," Jason started and from the look on his face she realized that something was horribly wrong.

"What?" Lulu reached for Johnny as if she couldn't take any more of this and he quickly helped to support her there.

"He's still in the hospital. The antibiotics didn't work and he needs something that they don't have in town." Jason explained. "He's in a coma." Jason swallowed tightly. Lulu fought her face falling as she blinked trying to feign off the tears again.

"I want see him." She finally whispered out.

**ZZZZZZZZZZZ**

Kristina set a cup of water next to Molly on the small end table next to the chair that her sister had curled up in. She leaned over and kissed her forehead before covering her with a spare blanket from Ethan's small cabinet in his room. "You need to get some of that yourself." She turned at the soft whisper at her back and smiled at Michael.

Kristina made her way out into the hallway so as not to disturb Molly or Ethan. "What are you doing here?"

"Dad's getting worried about all the time your volunteering." Michael explained. "I can't say I'm not either. Thought I'd walk you home tonight so you get some sleep." He offered.

"I can sleep on the roll away here." She said meeting his eyes with a streak of pouting defiance mingling with her much gentler spirit.

"Krissy," Michael started.

"Don't, I don't want to hear the lecture about how I can't wish Mom's death away by working til I'm exhausted. I'm fine. I'm coping. I just...it's more than Mom, everything's different and I have to do something to make a difference. Working here and out at Jason's helps."

"I get that, I do. My Mom's still missing, maybe dead and I know that it helps to get out there and try and help the people still here, but you can't help anyone if you make yourself sick." Michael tried to nudge her towards seeing the truth of the matter, that her own body was suffering from what she was doing no matter what her intentions. Michael frowned as Krissy looked past him without answering and he turned to see Jason, Sam, Johnny, Lulu, and Emily all making their way with a huge ass dog trailing behind them.

"Johnny!" Michael called happily as he met the man halfway, praying as he went. "Did you find Mom..." he hadn't even finished and Johnny was already shaking his head. Michael nodded with a sniff as Lulu rushed passed him to get to Ethan.

"I'm sorry, Michael. There are a lot of towns that are empty right now, some of the water is saturated with fall out, she might be in one of the tent cities." he offered him as hope. "If she's still out there. We're gonna find her." He promised him as Jason squeezed Michael's shoulder adding his support to the mix.

Kristina followed Lulu into the room and placed a steadying hand against her back as they both looked down at Ethan worriedly. "Robin said he needs Levaquin. The hospital hasn't had any in a week." She explained. They said that they might have it in Portland. He's been fighting really hard, Lulu."

Lulu looked over her shoulder at Kristina with a watery smile, glad that she'd been with him. "Thank you for staying with him." Lulu squeezed Ethan's hand and leaned over the bed to whisper to him. "You know this whole lazy look doesn't look good on you." She said as she kissed his cheek. "What would Dad say? Or Lucky?" She teased him hoping to see his eyes flutter open but fearing they wouldn't. "Alright. I know you need to conserve your strength. Let me fight for you for a bit. I'm going to go get the medicine you need. You just hang on until I get back."

"But Lulu, you just got back..." Kristina didn't even know where she'd been but could tell from the look of her that it was no where pleasant. "You can't..."

"Let my brother die." Lulu finished for her.

"You're not going out there alone." Johnny spoke up as he came into the room with Jason and Sam right behind him.

"Or without me." Sam piped in with fierce determination.

"Count me in too." Jason spoke up as soon as Sam spoke her intentions. Jason took the moment though to try and garner some control and interject reason into this spur of the moment decision to travel out there especially knowing what they knew now. "But we need to get some supplies, get cleaned up." He knew everyone could use a shower and while he didn't have hot water to offer he did have a working shower running off the well pumps out at the farm, not to mention a hideaway full of guns that kept him in the be prepared spirit.

So it was after tearful goodbyes with Kristina, Michael and not so much the sleeping Molly that the five-some headed out in the four door, Emily vowing to get the farm house prepared for their return, stepping up to keep the place running while they were gone.

Sam walked into her new bedroom toweling off her hair with a shiver as she adjusted the off the shoulder black sweater over her white tank. She didn't even look into the mirror, didn't want to. God, even with the shower she felt dirty. Sam closed her eyes trying to shake it. She'd been putting on a good front for Lulu's sake, but on the inside she felt like she was ready ti implode. She just had to hold it together, just until the feeling abated, eased up a little.

Sam shook herself, opening her eyes as she grabbed the duffel under her bed and emptied it out save a change of clothes before she headed down the stairs to catch up with everyone else. Jason had said to meet him in office downstairs. Se made it to his side just in time for the opening of the gun cabinet. Sam's eyes widened in wonder as she realized just how much she didn't know about Jason just yet as she beheld the extensive collection. "I think I love you," She whispered in awe.

Johnny chuckled at her back as he took it in. "Get in line." He teased as Jason smiled down at Sam, praying that she meant that one day. He quickly started passing out the guns and loading the bags with ammo.

"_Feeling the moment slip away...losing direction, you're losing faith...You're wishing for someone...Feeling it all begin to slide...Am I just like you? All the things you do – can't help myself..."_

Michael walked into Ethan's room and sank into the chair by his bedside with a sigh as he tried to get comfortable to get some sleep. The only way he'd been able to convince Kristina to go home and get some sleep was to offer to stay and watch over Ethan himself. He turned the flashlight off as dusk set in leaving the room shrouded in shadows and closed his eyes.

"God, protect Mom, where ever she is." He whispered.

"_How do you feel when there's no sun? And how will you be when the rain's cloud come...and pull you down again...How do you feel when there's no one? Am I just like you?..."_

Mac looked at the new map of the United States that hung over his desk, all the little push pins of red denoting the places that had been hit. It was scarier and scarier out there and still he felt as if Port Charles was holding it's own. He just prayed that things didn't go down hill from here. It was touch enough to hold the town together when they didn't know what was out there, to keep Sonny at bay.

What was going to happen now?

"_Turning to face what you've become...Buried the ashes of someone...broken by the strain...trying to fill the space inside...am I just like you?All the things you do – can't help myself..." _

Dante opened the small room in his basement and swallowed tightly as he settled a hand against the blocks that he'd bricked up the steel drum in recalling Johnny's words in the station with a frown. Dammit. He needed to get the bomb out of the house. He needed to get it someplace safe.

"Dad!" Dante slammed the door shut as he heard Hannah call for him. Dante made his way up the stairs and met his daughter in the kitchen. He met her eyes as he waited to hear what the emergency was and he hoped against hope that she never thought he was a monster...

"_How do you feel when there's no sun? And how will you be when the rain's cloud come...and pull you down again...How do you feel when there's no one? Am I just like you? All the things you do?..."_

Sonny walked into Maxie's new place with a sad saunter, making his way over to the bar before he sank onto the new stool there, the soft glow of candle light giving a glimmer of mystery to the place. Maxie walked out of the back with a bottle of wine in tow and smiled seductively to see him.

"You trying to burn the new place down?" He asked about the candles teasingly.

"Not with literal fire." Maxie narrowed her eyes.

"Why do I feel as if I'm about to be propositioned." Sonny chuckled.

"Because we both know Sam's back and I want to keep this place." Maxie cooed in a whisper as she leaned in closer to his ear, her breath nipping at his lobe. She pulled back and met his eyes with a devious glint in hers.

"I'll have to see what I can do about that."

"_Don't ever feel that your alone...I'll never let you down...I'll never leave you dry...Don't fall apart...don't let go...carry the notion, carry the notion back to me..." _

Somewhere in the wilderness of Pennsylvania a rode weary group of survivors from the riots in St. Lois trudged towards the refuge of their leaders home town. "Lucky!" Came a call from the middle of the group. Lucky Spencer turned to see what was going on, taking the moment to look through the crowd to find the problem.

"What's wrong?" He called worriedly.

"The kids need a rest!" Came the reply. Lucky let out a breath in relief that that's all it was and smiled softly.

"Lets take one then!" He looked to the road head of them, knowing that they still miles to go before they slept.

"_Feeling the moment slip away...Feeling the moment slip away...Cause I'm just like you...How do you feel when there's no sun? And how will you be when the rain's cloud come...and pull you down again...How do you feel when there's no one? Am I just like you?..."_

Johnny looked to Jason after checking the rear view to see that Sam and Lulu were out cold in the back seat, curled up around each other protectively. He could see that Jason was just as worried as he was. "Did Sam saying anything to you about what happened to them?" he asked him quietly.

"No and every time I ask she changes the subject." Jason said just as softly, checking the mirror himself. "Did Lulu say anything to you?" Johnny was already shaking his head.

Jason glanced Sam's way once more and licked at his lips nervously. "They'll tell us when they're ready."

"_Am I just like you..." _

_Last song " Feeling a Moment" by Feeder_


	12. Chapter 12 pt 1

**Twist of Fate**

**This Chapter is ****rated R**** for creepiness and referenced brutality. **

**Chapter Twelve Pt. 1**

_Sam peered into the rear view as she realized that the car pulling to a grounded stop behind belonged to one of Port Charles' finest. "At least it's the cops." Lulu whispered, but Sam couldn't find faith in that. She slowly reached for the door handle as both vehicles settled at an angle to each other. It wasn't just that the cars were coming to a stop that had her weary of this situation, it wasn't just because it was late and dark and they were in the middle of no where with nothing but a tire iron as a weapon if she could even get to it. It was just some little stirring I her gut, something she felt quite a bit over the years with Nico, right before the shit was about to hit the fan unexpectedly._

"_Just stay there Lulu, just for a minute." Sam cautioned as she slowly emerged from the car, holding her hands out from her side so that they could see that she was unarmed. "What happened?" She called towards the cop car, playing the frightened stranded passenger which wasn't a hard sell considering it was pretty accurate. _

"_Everything's going to be alright, Miss." She looked to Ronnie as he climbed from the driver side, narrowing her eyes in the moon light to try and get a good look at him. "Just try and stay calm, we're going to get to the bottom of this." He promised her. Sam winced from the flood from a flash light beam and held up her hand to shield her eyes from the light as the cops partner got out of the passenger seat. _

"_Oh wow. You know I never would have thought that today was my lucky day." Nico's voice was the startling point as even Sam was blinded by the flashlight beam she couldn't forget the sleaze of his no matter how much she tried. Sam took a hesitant step back. _

"_Hey can't you see she's scared, reign it in." Ronnie spoke up just as Nico drew and fired on him, taking him down right then and there in order to free up any objections to any acts to come. _

"_Stay right there, Darling," Nico said as Sam managed to feel the barrel of the gun aimed at her. "Call to your friend to get out of the car..." Sam looked over to the window, seeing Lulu hunkered down, from fear of another gun shot. Why now? The world coming apart at the seems wasn't enough? Sam pushed down the grip of fear trying to find her voice. "Now!" Nico screamed causing her to..._

Sam jumped awake, scrambling in panic, which set off quite the chain reaction. First and foremost she spooked Lulu awake who kicked out and managed to hit the back of Jason's seat while Sam inadvertently kicked Johnny's garnering full attention from the front seat as Lulu's fingers fumbled in nightmare fogged sleep and she accidentally pulled the door latch, the door swinging open in a rush just as Jason slammed on the brakes.

Lulu screamed as she was thrust downward at an angle through the door face first towards the pavement beyond. Sam fumbled in blind panic grabbing for her shoulder as Johnny came over the seat and grabbed Lulu by the back of the collar of her sweater yanking back as hard as he could as the car careened in a tail spin, Lulu fighting either falling or the door flying back and hitting her. Sam moved as she saw Johnny had Lulu and thrust her arm out to catch the door as they were still sliding to a stop.

When the car finally hitched to a stop everyone was panting to draw breath. Sam was perched over Lulu holding the door steady, while Johnny held onto her sweater for dear life and Jason looked frantically over his shoulder to find everyone alive and well, aside from scared senseless in the back seat. There was the longest moment when no one dared to utter a word, fear choked air to precious to allow speech to take priority over breathing. Slowly things began to unravel.

Johnny eased Lulu down into the floorboard and came bounding out of the front seat to get to her just as Jason bolted from the driver side to get to Sam. Soon Lulu was in Johnny's arms and Sam in Jason's taking refuge as they all realized just how close they came to losing one of them, all over a nightmare.

Jason pulled away and looked down at Sam awash in the light of the headlights as he checked her over, still fighting for breath. "Are you hurt?" he managed to get out as he combed over her frantically, checking to see if there were any obvious signs. Johnny and Lulu's similar foray fell to the back of his mind as he brushed her sweater up her arm in his frantic attempt to make sure that she as alright and the headlight beams a spattering of bruised flesh that crept in rings up her arm. Before she could pull away Jason slid the sleeve up on her other arm and saw the same pattern. "Sam?" He asked in horror.

Jason knew that something was wrong and while he wanted to let her get it out in her own time, this was...God, Jason felt sick, fighting rising bile as he felt her slipping out of his arms like she was scared or embarrassed that he'd seen them. "I'm, fine." She panted out.

Jason couldn't let it go this time though. "No, you're not." he got it out as softly as he could with the warring anger at anyone that could hurt her like this surging inside him. "You haven't been fine since we found you on the side of the road and I tried to let it go, to give you time to come to whatever place you needed to before you talked about it, but this isn't working."

"It can work. It can...and I can tell you about it later, when we get back to Port Charles." Sam sputtered out at a ramble, tears dotting her eyes. "I just I can't..." She broke off meeting his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Jason whispered bridging the distance between them again. "Sam, what happened? Who did this to you and Lulu?" He wasn't sure what ailed Lulu, but he knew she was just as traumatized as Sam.

"Jason, don't." Sam didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want to give that hell voice as if she could just shove it down and eventually she would get past it.

"Don't what?" Jason asked her softly. "Worry about you? Want to kill whoever could hurt you? Sam wasn't is it you don't want me to do?" Jason asked her keeping his voice in check.

"Make me say it." Sam rasped out in tears.

"Why is it so hard to say it, Sam?" Jason asked her. God what was so bad? He had done a million things he wished he could take back, gone through hell and back in Siberia and while he didn't want to talk about his own war wounds he was getting more and more afraid that her battle scars ran deeper than he had ever imagined.

"I killed Nico!" Sam exclaimed finally and Jason knew that wasn't half the story, but it was making more and more sense.

"What did he do, Sam?" Jason breathed wishing he could kill him all over again for her. He was petrified to hear the answer but the truth of the matter was this. They were heading out into what was considered for all intents and purposes a war zone and he couldn't stomach subjecting them to more hardship especially if they were already so traumatized that they were having trouble functioning.

"He used me to get Sam to help him." Lulu spoke up, though Jason was wondering if she was being intentionally evasive with the explanation.

"Who is Nico?" Johnny piped in at this point.

"Sam's ex." Jason met her eyes, not letting the others speaking up deter him from getting answers from her. "Sam what did he do?"

"Jason I know what you're worried about." Sam frowned as she tried to steer the conversation around. "But I'm good. It's hard and I will tell you about it, but not right now. I'm not going to freak again and we can easily stop this from happening by locking the doors if you're worried about it." Sam dodged again. "I don't want to talk about Nico's transgressions at the moment or why killing him makes me so sick. Ethan needs meds and we shouldn't be standing here like sitting ducks in the middle of the highway in case there are others laying in wait." Sam interjected more road reason into the conversation.

Jason didn't like it one damn bit but she regained her composure fast enough to let him know that at the very least she and Lulu could handle the trial to come. He wanted to know, had to know, what that bastard had done. Jason just felt so sick that he hadn't been able to find her or Lulu, he felt as if he had failed them both and now he was trying to make it right by some stretch of the imagination. Still how could he make it right if he didn't even know what was wrong?

It was a seething sort of affection that passed between them as he finally gave a nod that he was letting it go and everyone headed back to the car. He could tell that Johnny was dealing with the same sort of mix of emotions as he climbed into the back with Lulu, leaving Sam to take the passenger seat next to Jason. Sam quickly took it upon herself to dissuade further conversation on the matter by rummaging through a – she frowned as she picked up one of the cassettes – who still used cassettes? She shrugged though and combed through them trying to find something that she could stomach listening to and finally settled on the "Hackers" Soundtrack. She really wasn't sure what it was but an upbeat sort of electronica sound took over the stereo and it was enough to keep everyone quietly entertained as they hadn't been afforded music in a while.

Soon they didn't need the stereo to distract them, however, as the four hour car ride ended in pay dirt the moment that they graced the stone silent streets of Portland. Everyone's eyes took to the streets beyond their windows as they took in the absolute desolation. There was nothing, the streets of Portland were devoid of life, shops and deserted streets witnessed through beams from the headlights as they followed hospital signs toward their destination.

Jason frowned when they headed into a residential neighborhood just shy of the hospital district and he noticed spray painted signs on each of the doors to the houses. It looked like a huge X with numbers scattered around each of the lines. "What does that mean?" Lulu asked in wonder as she peered our her window.

"The number on the right is the number of people they found there." Jason swallowed tightly. Sam frowned seeing that most of the numbers on the left said zero. "The number on the left is the number they found alive." Jason finished.

"FEMA." Johnny sighed as if explaining who the they were that Jason was talking about.

A few minutes later Jason pulled into a parking place near the door of the vacant enough looking hospital. They all grabbed their bags as they headed out into the night toward the door. Sam noticed an abundance of differing colored fliers with the aid of her flashlight and scooped one up frowning again. "The water table of the region was deemed unsuitable for human consumption. They evacuated the town." She said as she held up the flier for anyone else that wanted to see.

No one really got a chance to look at it though as as soon as Sam held it up a barrage of gun fire was laid down across the parking lot, sending them scrambling to get to the wall of the building to take cover. "Move against the wall to the door," Jason ordered everyone as he and Johnny returned fire just to get them inside. Once they were inside the ER entrance Jason looked back to the others. "I got one shooter, everyone else?"

"Yeah one, fifth floor" Johnny nodded.

"I thought it was sixth." Sam corrected him as she nodded about there only being one.

"I only saw one but I didn't see which floor." Lulu sputtered out. "Who the hell is firing shots from a hospital?" Lulu asked in horror. "I thought they evacuated the town."

"Someone didn't go." Johnny told her softly. They started down the corridor glad that at least the smaller flashlights had withstood the EMP as they headed into the place. Sam frowned seeing scattered beds and chairs littering the hallway, making it hard to get through, then it got worse.

They were in the stairwell when a grenade sized chunk of green metal was tossed down the middle and landed only a few feet away from Johnny. He had them diving for cover in a heart beat down the flight below, but all that transpired was a bright flash and a loud bang. It was still enough to disorient them all but it was obviously not meant to kill them.

They were all shaking their heads, trying to get the buzzing in their ears to subside as they started to move again. It was Sam that made the first attempt at communication before Jason could stop her. "Hey!" She called up the stairwell. "We don't want to hurt anyone, we just need some medicine."

"We're all out!" Came the reply from above.

"We want to see for ourselves." She called back. "We'll put our guns down." Sam promised as she got a shocked glance from everyone. "He's scared!" She said in explanation. "If we're careful we can get in and get the meds, besides he doesn't have to know you have your backups." Sam whispered the last part out. Sam then looked up to the shaky guy weaving to take a few glances down at them and held up her hands in surrender. "We're coming up." She told him.

It wasn't until they actually reached the floor though that they came to realize just how bad it had gotten here. Bodies of patients garbed in hospital gowns littered the hallways. They were everywhere. Lulu hitched in a breath as she peered around Johnny's shoulder at the sight in horror. Sam took it more in stride but she was still getting queasy, trying to feign toughness.

Jason hid his shock the best, taking the lead now as they rounded a corridor and found themselves in the sights of an automatic weapon via the gunman that had both fired on them and tossed the flash bang down the stairwell to scare them. Jason held up his hands in surrender immediately and everyone else followed suite. "We just need to see about getting an antibiotic." He told him calmly. "We're not here to hurt anyone."

"I already told you we're out." The antsy guy in camo and a body armor chest piece replied, obviously wounded as he was sporting a thick bandage over his left knee. "Go back the way you came."

"We can't do that." Sam called from behind Jason, as he had angled his body protectively in front of her. "We have a friend whose dying who needs medicine."

"He's my brother." Lulu begged of the man some semblance of compassion.

"Jessie," Came a female call from the corridor as a woman moved to climb her way to them. "They're friends of mine." She promised him and in an instant that camo man's gun dropped aim and Jason found his gaze situated on Carly standing behind him in the corridor...


	13. Chapter 12 pt 2

**Twist of Fate **

**Here is the second part of Chapter 12 – normally it wouldn't take me as long but I've had a whole bunch of family here and it's been nuts. So thanks so much for reading and reviewing guys and Really hope that you enjoy :)**

**Chapter Twelve pt. 2**

Jason could have counted the blessings that they had left to revel in on one hand, but seeing Carly there gave him a whole new sense of renewed hope. As Jessie dropped his aim Jason crossed the expanse between he and his friend traversing the clutter and bodies in time to catch her in a mutual embrace, both tugging each other close, Carly burying her face against Jason's shoulder. It had been a crazy few years and while Jason was no longer in Sonny's employee they had both been there for each other. Maybe not as much as they should have been, but they were always going to be a part of each others lives.

"I'm so glad you're alright." Jason whispered out as he closed his eyes, thanking God she was alive. "What are you doing in Portland? Michael said you were in Creekside on business."

Carly pulled back sniffing back a wave of tears as she nodded. "I was. There was a change of plans and we had to head to Portland. I was half way here when the bombs went off. I meant to call when we got here, but well, everything fell apart." Carly explained but she had much more pressing things on her mind as she met Jason's eyes. "Tell me they're alright..." She whispered out desperately. "Please..."

"You're kids are fine." Jason got out in a rush realizing that she'd been over two weeks in the dark without knowing if her kids had survived. "They're all fine. I've checked on all of them. Port Charles is making it for now." He wasn't sure he should bring up Sonny's shift towards the dark side, not yet anyway, they still needed to get Ethan the antibiotics and get back in one piece and God knew that they all knew they were in danger until they made it home.

Carly broke down in much happier tears as Lulu came around from behind Jason and embraced her thankful that she was finding more and more of her loved ones alive. "Hey, they're good. Really good." She promised her tearing up herself as they hugged. "I'm so glad to see you. I love you!" Lulu whispered out.

"God I'm glad to see you too. Thank you, thank you." Carly whispered back.

Johnny was next in line for a hug but he didn't linger as the others had before he pulled back and asked more objectively. "What happened here?" He motioned to the disarray but more importantly to the bodies. Everyone watched as Carly exchanged a glance with Jessie worriedly but they both looked back to the group soon enough.

"Jessie worked for a security company, Cyrus Security, they were deployed here to help with the evacuation." Carly explained her voice choked with emotion. Jessie took over for her his own voice heavy with disgust and frustration.

"Everything went fine until we came to get the rest of the docs out. Some of them didn't want to leave because they had patients that couldn't be moved. We weren't equipped to move anyone in critical condition and there was no one else coming." Jessie wiped his hand down his face as if it would some how wipe away the memory before he continue.

"The docs were all yelling and the commander he was screaming back and before I even knew what was going on some of our guys opened fire. Everyone picked sides in a half a second and there was a blood bath as one side gunned down the patients so that there was no more debate and the others turned on them."

"I wasn't here when it happened." Carly said as she lay a reassuring hand on Jessie's shoulder. "I didn't leave because I knew if I was sent to a tent city it could be months before I got home to the kids." Carly explained.

Jesse looked to her quickly as she explained whats he might have missed. "They need antibiotics."

"What's wrong?" Carly asked worriedly.

"Ethan's sick." Lulu spoke up immediately still reeling from the news of what had transpired here. God, they'd gunned patients down who couldn't even move really. "We're out of anything that can help him in Port Charles. Patrick said he needed Levaquin and he will die if he doesn't get it." Lulu confided.

"There's one Doc left, he might know if we have any," Carly spoke up quickly already moving in that direction, beckoning them to follow.

Sam brought up the rear watching the reunion in tearful happiness for those that she'd already come to value as friends and more meeting back up with a loved one that they were so relieved to find. She was relieved as well, but she had to wonder what she didn't know about this woman that she'd heard so many ask about, fear for her safety...Jason seemed so very close with her and he had only mentioned her in passing, maybe because he was afraid of inciting his own worries. She was so glad that they would be able to bring her home to her children.

Sam took in the bodies that they passed wondering how long ago this battle had occurred considering no one had tried to move them. Did that mean that they were in danger here? God she hoped not she had had enough of the constant threat. She'd thought it was bad enough growing up as a con artist, but this, this made that look like child's play.

Sam waited by the door frame as they walked into an operating room where a man was operating on a patient despite the lack of power or right conditions, the place had the feel of a combat hospital. "This is Dr. Brant." Carly explained to the group though he didn't look up from his work. "Brant!"

"Can't you see I'm working!" Brant replied in a pissed tone as she continued on with his task.

"He's been trying to save the ones that were shot." Jessie confided to the group. "This is the last one..."

All Sam saw was a man in the midst of a breakdown trying to revive the dead, God. She looked away in tears. There was no telling what it had been like here and she didn't even want to imagine it.

"They need some Levaquin to save a man's life." Carly called out, trying to break through to the man. "Have we got any left?"

"Try the second shelf on there." He motioned with his head as he continued to work. "There is some Cipro and Levaquin and a few other antibiotics. Take what you need and leave." He screamed. Everyone semi-jumped at the outburst.

Johnny went to work hurriedly grabbing box after box of the precious meds as he slung them easily into a bag draped over his shoulder, trying to get everything he could as it was clear they weren't needed here. Lulu then whispered to Carly, trying to clear her confusion. "Why was a security firm evacuating the city?"

"The government hired us." Jessie explained.

"They're contractors. The military is stretched too thin." Jason added.

All of a sudden a flash of headlights pouring in through the windows betraying that more than one vehicle was pulling into the parking lot. "Stay away from the windows." Johnny warned as Jason and Jessie moved to get a better look at what they who had arrived.

They saw three Humvees pulling into the parking lot with the same markings as Jessie's vest. Jason looked to Jessie worriedly.

"That's the ones that opened fire before. They've come back." He got out worriedly.

"Dammit." Jason whispered out. "They've come to finish cleaning out the town and to clean up this mess. They won't leave anyone alive." he said once he's assessed what he could from the situation. He looked to Jessie again. "How many rounds you got?"

"Enough to hold them off while you guys make a run for it. You have to get out of here." Jessie explained and without waiting he suddenly shoved the muzzle of his gun through an opening in the window and opened up fire taking down two of the guys about to come in. "Two down!" he called. "Four to go."

"Have you got what we need?" Jason called to Johnny.

"Yeah!" He called back as they all ducked a barrage of return fire.

"Jessie, we're not leaving without you!" Carly cried in horror.

Brant seemed oblivious to the fire fight until he realized he was working on a dead man and he then lost it. He headed to Jessie in a moment of clarity and held his hands out expectantly in a moment of clarity. "I'll hold them off, you get them out of here." He was a lost cause and it was clear that Jessie and Carly had spent enough time with him to realize that this moment of clarity wasn't to last long and they should take full advantage of it and his death wish.

Jessie reluctantly handed over his gun, but soon they were headed towards the ground floor in the opposite direction of the others coming up looking to kill.

"_Farewell, this blackened eye, you learned your lessons falling down, far behind, and tracing footsteps home...despite your lack of pride, you wore your imperfections well. Dignified. Spend your time alone. Trace your footsteps home..." _

It was a race to the finish line as the six of them rushed out of the building with the devil to pay behind them and a hail of gunfire sending them off. They scrambled into the four door, piling up as best they could before Jason peeled out of the parking lot with Portland a smudge in the rear view. There wasn't a lot to be said. Not in mid escape.

"_Your hands are always reaching out of favor...your kind are only good for bad behavior...your mouth was never one to trust...you're always speaking out...falling far behind...falling out of line..."_

Dawn was breaking as they made their way back into Port Charles, thankful that they had shed am tail that might have followed them and it was Michael who woke aside Ethan when Robin began to inject the antibiotic into his IV.

Carly enveloped her son in loving embrace as the others waited to see how Ethan responded.

"_Farewell, this bitter tongue, you spoke your lessons falling down, talking out, and breaking silence...Despite the harm you've done, you swallowed your rejection well. Amplified. Sing your song alone. Trace your footsteps home." _

Kristina walked in in the mid morning hours to find quite the site, Ethan improving and Molly triumphant in her attempt to make ice. Molly was coaching a group of adults on how to follow up the experiment as Kristina rushed into Ethan's room, finding a wealth of more color in his cheeks even if he hadn't woken yet.

"_Your hands are always reaching out of favor...your kind are only good for bad behavior...your mouth was never one to trust...you're always speaking out...falling far behind...falling out of line..."_

Sam stood in her new bedroom with a wealth of questions and a head full of memories racing through her as she looked into the mirror in silent exhale. God, the world was so different. It wasn't enough that she had done Nico's evil bidding for him, but now she had to remember it all and there was a part of her that wanted to, another that didn't and still another that wished she could wake up and find that the last nearly a month hadn't happened. Only she didn't, because that would mean that she never met Jason...

"_Trace your footsteps home..." _

_Last Song " Falling Down" by The Birthday Massacre _

**Next Chapter : Carly talks to Sam and Sonny. Sam tells Jason what happened with Nico...and more... **


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